Christian Zacharias is a world-renowned interpreter of works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Robert Schumann. Two works by Schumann feature in the programme of his performance with the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic. Zacharias will not only conduct, but also sit at the piano, performing the solo part in one of these works.
The colourful suite from Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring that will open the concert belongs to the group of three so-called “cowboy ballets” by Copland (the others being Rodeo and Billy the Kid). The work was commissioned by the famous dancer Martha Graham and premiered in Washington, D.C. in 1944. The content of the ballet is the adventures of a young couple of settlers, taking place in spring. The brilliantly orchestrated suite quickly gained great popularity and is now one of the most frequently performed pieces by Copland. Robert Schumann’s Konzertstück in G major is a piece written in September 1849. It consists of two movements – a slow-paced introduction and a dynamic second movement. It was first performed in Leipzig in February 1850 by Clara Schumann, an excellent composer and pianist.
The second part of the concert will feature the Symphony in B flat major “Spring” by Schumann. It was written at a fast pace, as the composer worked on it for only two months, in January and February 1842. The premiere took place in March 1842 in Leipzig under the baton of Felix Mendelssohn. Until then, Schumann had been known mainly for his piano compositions. His wife persuaded him to write a larger piece for orchestra. Interestingly, although the artist in a letter to a friend described in detail what specific fragments in the score reminded him of spring, all associations with this season came to his mind only after finishing the work! He even planned to give the individual movements programme titles (The Beginning of Spring, Evening, Funny Games, Spring in Full Bloom), but he withdrew from this idea, leaving the listener to choose how they want to understand the music.