NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra / Joshua Bell / Ryan Bancroft

A student of the same Henri Vieuxtemps commissioned a violin concerto from the Frenchman Ernest Chausson (after he himself had long since become a maestro in his field). But instead of a standard concerto, the composer had a freer approach in mind. Chausson wrote a poetic, floating orchestral work that is generous in giving the violin room to develop on its own – and proceeded to call it a »poem«. This Poème, Op. 25, by Ernest Chausson is performed by Joshua Bell as the first item on the evening’s programme.

Joshua Bell is joined by another rising star: the American Ryan Bancroft first made a name for himself in 2018 when he won the prestigious Nicolai Malko Competition for Young Conductors in Copenhagen. Since 2021 he has been principal conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and is already the designated music director of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.

The finale of this concert evening is entirely in Ryan Bancroft’s hands, as he conducts Alexander Zemlinsky’s symphonic poem »The Mermaid«. Based on Andersen’s fairytale »The Little Mermaid«, it is thought that Zemlinsky used this work to deal with his unrequited love for Alma Mahler, that femme fatale par excellence in turn-of-the-century Vienna. With an impressionistic array of colours, Zemlinsky reflected his emotions in the depths of the sea.