With works by Louise Farrenc, William Walton and Johannes Brahms
Program:
Louise Farrenc - Overture No. 1 in E minor, op. 23
William Walton - Concerto for Viola and Orchestra in A minor
Johannes Brahms - Symphony No. 3 in F major, op. 90
Louise Farrenc was the first female professor at the Paris Conservatoire and one of the few women of her time who had a distinct self-image as a composer. During her lifetime, her works were performed alongside those of Beethoven, Mozart and Berlioz. Her Overture No. 1 was one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the concert repertoire from its premiere. The overture marks a turning point in the composer's oeuvre: whereas she had previously devoted herself to salon music, from this point on she turned to the still young genre of the concert overture.
First enfant terrible, then musical figurehead of the British Isles: William Walton's career moved from modern to conservative. Six years after the premiere of his scandalous piece Façade , he struck a more elegiac tone in his viola concerto - tailored to the warm and melancholy timbre of the viola. The soloist is violist Dana Zemtsov, who was born in Mexico and lives in the Netherlands. She has won numerous competitions and, despite her young age, can look back on a remarkable career. She performs regularly with major orchestras and is a valued chamber music partner. Dana Zemtsov is making her first guest appearance in Schwerin.
"What wonderful melodies there are! It is pure love and it makes your heart beat faster!" This is how Antonín Dvořák described his listening experience of Brahms' Symphony No. 3. The extremely self-critical Brahms always endeavored to continue in his works what Beethoven had set out to do in his symphonies. He seemed to have succeeded in this with his 3rd Symphony: It delighted his composing contemporaries and even tempted the conductor Hans Richter to refer to it as "Brahms' Eroica".
