Antonín Dvořák
Slavonic dances (selection) (1876-86)
Bohuslav Martinů
Concerto for harpsichord and small orchestra (1936)
Ludwig van Beethoven
Sinfonie Nr. 4 B-Dur op. 60 (1806)
- Mahan Esfahani Harpsichord
- Gürzenich-Orchester Köln
- Michael Sanderling Conductor
Unfortunately, the concert introduction on Monday, 22.05. and Tuesday, 23.05. cannot take place for organisational reasons. We apologise for any inconvenience.
A »slim Greek maiden standing between two Nordic giants« – Music critics of today obviously try to avoid playing with these kinds of stereotypes. Robert Schumann however used this image to emphasize the extraordinary impact of Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony on him, compared with the Third and the Fifth: An epitome of beauty that fascinated the young Romantics in particular. Michael Sanderling, popular and frequent guest conductor at the Gürzenich Orchestra, centres his programme around this work. The Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů, inspired by the sound ideal that prevailed during Beethoven’s times, uses the harpsichord of Artist in Residence Mahan Esfahani as particle accelerator to send the orchestra back to the future – a work essential to the rediscovery of this outdated instrument. A selection of Antonín Dvořák’s popular Slavonic Dances rounds off the programme.
