Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin / Christian Tetzlaff / Vladimir Jurowski
Martinů: Memorial to Lidice / Suk: Fantasy for Violin op. 24 / Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8 – Hamburg International Music Festival
Music against war
Written in 1943, Dmitri Shostakovich’s »Symphony No. 8« is one of the so-called »war symphonies« and its monumental sounds are an undoubted reference to the horrors of the era. But as is so often the case with Shostakovich, the music reveals further layers. Did Shostakovich even write himself into the music, as the conductor Kurt Sanderling suggested? There is now a chance to get to the bottom of this mystery in concert with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin (Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra), which performs the work under its principal conductor Vladimir Jurowski at the Hamburg International Music Festival.
Bohuslav Martinů’s short symphonic poem »Memorial to Lidice« was also written in the midst of war. The piece commemorates the more than 300 Czechs from the village of Lidice who were murdered by the Nazis in June 1942. Finally, works can be heard by Josef Suk, who was one of the leading Czech composers of his day but is often overshadowed nowadays by his father-in-law Antonín Dvořák. Namely the »Meditation on the Old Czech Chorale St Wenceslas«, the patron saint of Bohemia, and the »Fantasie for Violin and Orchestra«, a rarely performed work in the repertoire. In the latter, Christian Tetzlaff, the soloist originating from Hamburg, is set to be a special treat.
Performers
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin
Christian Tetzlaff violin
conductor Vladimir Jurowski
Programme
Bohuslav Martinů
Memorial to Lidice
Josef Suk
Meditation on the Old Czech Chorale St. Wenceslas, Op. 35a
Fantasie for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 24
– Interval –
Dmitri Schostakowitsch
Symphony No. 8 in C minor, Op. 65
Festival
Hamburg International Music Festival