Petr Popelka & Josef Špaček (O)

Chief conductor of the Radio Symphonies, Petr Popelka, together with Josef Špaček, one of the best violinists of the younger middle generation, will perform the second of Bohuslav Martinů's violin concertos, a work from 1943. Created in exile in the USA. Since the composer did not return from France to the Protectorate, he had to flee from the Nazis in Europe just before the occupation of Paris. He arrived in New York with his wife on the last day of March 1941. The Violin Concerto premiered on the last day of 1943 in Boston. Until an earlier one, which was considered lost, appeared in 1968, it was thought that Martinů had not written more concertos for violin and orchestra... La Bagarre, in Czech Vřava, is the result of a trip to Paris, an innovative composition from 1926 – it is charged with a modern atmosphere of movement, vigor, rush; is an image of the uncontrollable movement of large masses of people. Martinů dedicated the composition to the memory of the landing of the American aviator Charles Lindbergh after the first flight across the Atlantic. The other two works are distinctly programmatic and have a literary basis. Polednice by Antonín Dvořák is one of four symphonic poems composed after his return from America to themes from Erben's collection Kytice. Dvořák's ballads attracted attention not only because of their color and fairytale charm, but also because of their emphasis on moral principles. In addition, he also liked the rhythm and tone of the poems, so it was possible to directly underpin a number of passages in the score with text. It is an original approach that deviates from the solutions in the music of his contemporaries. The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky is a colorful ballet fairy tale.

Program:

• Bohuslav Martinů: La Bagarre
• Bohuslav Martinů: Violin Concerto No. 2
• Antonín Dvořák: Polednice
< li>Igor Stravinsky: The Firebird, suite