Giancarlo Guerrero, over the years of working with the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic, has developed a very good relationship with the orchestra. His return to Wrocław will be an excellent opportunity to listen to his interpretation of two works by Joseph Haydn and a piece by the contemporary American composer Joseph Corigliano, who will be present during the performance of his symphony.

Joseph Haydn went down in the history of music not only as the father of the symphony or the string quartet, but also as an artist endowed with a great sense of humour. His Symphony in F sharp minor “Farewell”, was written in 1772. It is an unusual work in many respects. It was created in the period in Haydn’s work referred to as “Sturm und Drang Periode”. At that time, the composer boldly experimented with harmony and form, which was reflected in the fact that the “Farewell” is the only symphony in the key of F sharp minor written in the 18th century. The unusual form of the slow ending of the fourth movements was inspired by the circumstances of its writing, which we know thanks to the author's own account. He recalled that when he was Kapellmeister to Prince Nikolaus I Esterházy, all the musicians were living in their patron’s palace. The stay was being prolonged beyond measure, and as the artists missed their families left in Eisenstadt, a day’s journey away, they decided to intervene with Haydn. He resorted to trickery. During the performance of the ending of this symphony, individual musicians put out their candles and slowly left until only two violinists remained at the stands – Haydn and the concertmaster Luigi Tomasini. The amused prince understood the allusion and gave the musicians the much-desired holidays.

John Corigliano, born in 1938, is one of the most respected contemporary American composers. His First Symphony was written in 1988, commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. It was performed for the first time in March 1990 by this ensemble under the baton of Daniel Barenboim. The work is dedicated to the memory of the artist’s friends who died during the AIDS epidemic. According to the composer’s account, while working on this piece, he was overcome by feelings of sadness, anger and frustration due to the passing of people close to him. The performance conducted by Guerrero will be the Polish premiere of this valuable work, full of great emotions and subtle allusions.