The programme of the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero includes compositions by Jean Sibelius, Samuel Barber and an organ concerto by Aaron Copland. The performance of the last piece began the wonderful career of Copland, who was certainly (to travesty the title of his other work Fanfare for the Common Man) an uncommon man. The solo part will be performed by the outstanding Latvian organist Iveta Apkalna.

The concert will begin with the work composed latest. Samuel Barber’s Toccata Festiva was created in the spring of 1960. The new piece was commissioned from Barber to add splendour to the presentation of the new organ of the Philadelphia Conservatory, the then headquarters of the Philadelphia Orchestra, which in the United States belonged to the Big Five. It is therefore not surprising that the work written at that time is filled with a mood of joyful celebration and also contains a daring organ part, thanks to which the possibilities of the new instrument were fully presented. Then we will listen to Aaron Copland’s Organ Symphony. It was created in 1924 as a result of his stay in Paris and studies with the famous teacher Nadia Boulanger. It was his first mature work, which helped him gain fame. For its time, it had a very avant-garde character, and also contained “scandalizing references” to jazz that outraged the conservative audience. During the premiere, Walter Damrosch, conducting the symphony, addressed the audience with the words: “if a talented young man at the age of twenty-three can write such a symphony, in five years he will be ready to commit murder”, to which Copland jokingly commented that this was probably the only way to prepare ladies from elegant society for contact with contemporary music!

At the end of the evening, we will hear Symphony No. 2 in D major by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The Helsinki premiere of this work in 1902 confirmed the artist’s position as one of the leading symphonists of that time. The cheerful finale of the composition was perceived as a desire to encourage the Finns in their fight against the oppression of the Russian authorities (Finland regained independence in 1917). Its creator’s compatriot, composer Sulho Ranta, wrote: “There is something in this music – at least for us – that puts us in ecstasy, like a shaman beating his magic drum.”