Concert Series “From Christmas to New Year”: Festive Rhapsody

In this traditional concert by the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra and its artistic director, violinist and conductor Sergej Krylov, two solemn works by Johann Sebastian Bach will create a festive atmosphere, while a bright symphony by Joseph Haydn and a passionate rhapsody by Maurice Ravel will accompany the audience towards a successful and colourful New Year. Around 1721, J. S. Bach wrote six orchestral works and dedicated them to his patron, Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg. “Six Concertos for Various Instruments” is how the composer described them. This evening features the “Brandenburg Concerto” No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048. Bach does not single out soloists here; instead, he divides the string orchestra into parts and makes inventive use of the many exchanges among the string trios. Also on the programme is one of the most popular concertos by this Baroque-era genius: the Violin Concerto in G minor, BWV 1056R. Like other composers, Bach reused material from his earlier compositions in new works; the predecessor to this one was a concerto for clavier. The leading representative of the Viennese Classical school, J. Haydn, composed 103 symphonies. Of his earliest, the best known are three (Nos. 6, 7 and 8), written in 1761 and given programmatic titles: “Morning”, “Noon” and “Evening”. These were the first works with which Haydn introduced himself to the orchestra and audience at the Esterházy court. Haydn’s symphonies were usually given their titles by friends or listeners, and the title “Morning” for Symphony No. 6 is associated with the brief, slow introduction to its first movement, which evokes a sunrise. The French Impressionist M. Ravel called his rhapsody “Tzigane” for violin and orchestra “a virtuoso piece in the style of a Hungarian rhapsody”. He dedicated it to one of the most celebrated violinists of her generation, the Hungarian Jelly d’Arányi, who gave its first performance in London in 1924. Interestingly, critics at the time panned the work, calling it kitsch, pastiche and “instrumental acrobatics”; today, the rhapsody triumphantly travels to the world’s most famous concert stages.