During the concert crowning the season of the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra and the NFM Choir, the SAGA TRILOGY will be performed – a monumental work by Joseph Swensen, the Leopoldinum’s outgoing Artistic Director, and at the same time a versatile musician and composer. Waldemar Żarów, Marcin Misiak and Mirosław Mały will perform as soloists on the stage of the Red Hall.

Joseph Swensen is a valued conductor, and his interpretations of various works belonging to the canon of classical music and contemporary compositions are well known to the Wrocław audience. The concert will be an opportunity to listen to the world premiere of his latest work – the SAGA TRILOGY.

“You could say it’s three concertos. The solo parts will be performed by the musicians of the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra. The stars of each section will be a double bassist, a cellist and a clarinetist. This piece will fill the entire programme, which makes over an hour of music. All movements are interconnected, they use largely the same material, but – more importantly – they are elements of a very long story, which is in a sense a story about the universe. The first movement is called Primordial Earth, so it concerns the Earth before the appearance of humans. The second is Saga, which is a story about people, and the third is Song of Infinity, which is imagining the experience after our death. It’s really interesting because the Saga, which is central to life as we know it, is also extremely difficult cello music, full of struggle. The last movement, with the viola and choir playing the main part, is full of joy. I felt very happy writing music for the NFM Choir, imagining the artists singing it while composing. And, of course, I wrote this composition for the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra,” says Joseph Swensen about his work.