Beethoven. Brahms 𝄪 Orchestrální cyklus

The final concert requires an adequate dramaturgy that will direct the season to its climax. Such a program can certainly be built from the works of major authors. Fundamental for history, but also for our orchestra.

We heard the music of Ludwig van Beethoven several times during the season, and in the last evening we will also come to his works for the piano.

Beethoven's five piano concertos stand on the border between classicism and romanticism, and from an aesthetic point of view, they still represent a kind of benchmark of the beauty of piano art for many. Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 3 is quite firmly anchored in classicism, especially formally. However, a bolder and more openly emotional solution has already penetrated the harmony and means of expression: perhaps also in accordance with the composer's nature.

We will enjoy the concert performed by Sir Stephen Hough, a renowned pianist with a respectable concert, recording and composition history. His complete recording of Beethoven's piano concertos had a positive response from critics, and the advertisement for this evening may be that Gramophone magazine highlighted his interpretation of Concerto No. 3 the most. The exceptionality of this performance will be underlined by the fact that the original second movement of Beethoven's 3rd Piano Concerto will be replaced by his own version entitled Con gran espressione. The composition was published in London in 2025 and will be heard in our production in the Czech premiere.

In the second half of the evening, Brahms' Symphony No. 2 in D major will be performed under the baton of Emmanuel Villaum.

Brahms felt obliged to Beethoven's legacy to such an extent that it paralyzed him: he had been writing the first symphony for years. In contrast, the Second Symphony was created in just one year. The composer emphasizes melancholy and even sadness in it.

However, these shine through during listening through the lyrical, almost pastoral character of the piece, which, among other things, also contains a paraphrase of Brahms's most famous melody - the Lullaby.