The French horn is an instrument with a warm tone, as if created by nature itself. It makes the orchestra sound full and cohesive. This doesn’t mean that horn players aren’t valued soloists. The NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra is honoured to host two renowned horn virtuosos: Radek Baborák and Ben Goldscheider. We will hear concertante and symphonic works from different eras.

The NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra is usually led by a violin player, but this time it will be directed by Radek Baborák playing the horn.  His international standing is evidenced, among others, by the fact that he has led horn groups in numerous orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker. During the concert, his student, Ben Goldscheider, will also perform for the Wrocław audience. This young and sought-after artist recently opened his own French horn class at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp.

Due to its stylistic diversity, the programme of this concert can be compared to a sun-drenched orange grove filled with fragrant fruit. The first will be a double concerto by the 18th-century Czech composer, born Rösler, who called himself Rosetti in Italian, and is now known in Czech as Růžička. The work was composed for two of his contemporary horn players, who were also Czech. Antonín Dvořák’s lyrical Nocturne will serve as an orchestral interlude, while the Czech portion of the concert will conclude with a work by Baborák himself, L'Orangerie.

After intermission, we will hear a work by Malcolm Arnold, a conservative English symphonist of the 20th century, little known in Poland. He dedicated his Concerto No. 2 to the British legend of the horn, Dennis Brian. Arnold suggested that in his compositions, he portrayed the musicians for whom they were intended. Benjamin Britten did a similar thing in his Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, inspired by his teacher’s work. And finally, the artists have chosen to close tonight’s concert with the national anthem of the United Kingdom in Beethoven’s arrangement. In short, the NFM will be like a winter garden full of exquisite, unknown fruits.