Ken-David Masur is an acclaimed conductor, son of the legendary Kurt Masur, artistic director of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. He will conduct the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic in the works by two Viennese Classicists and a symphony by one of the most recognizable German Romantics.
The concert will begin with Ludwig van Beethoven’s tempestuous and passionate Coriolan Overture. The composer was inspired by a tragedy published in 1804 by Heinrich Joseph von Collin. Its protagonist is Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus, a legendary figure from the early history of Rome, so named because he seized the town of Corioli belonging to the Volsca tribe. The first theme in a minor key depicts Coriolanus, showing his violent nature and desire to conquer. The second musical thought in a major key depicts the desperate pleas of his mother, urging him to stop fighting. Coriolan listens to her pleas, but orders have already been given and bloodshed cannot be avoided, so the desperate man commits suicide.
The Symphony in E flat major Hob. I:103 ‘Drum Roll’ is the penultimate of Joseph Haydn’s symphonies. It belongs to a group of twelve “London symphonies”, written for the concerts held in this city, to which the composer was invited by the famous impresario Johann Peter Salomon. The Austrian master’s music was well known in the Isles, and his appearance there was received with great enthusiasm by the audience. The symphony, which will be conducted by Masur, was written in the winter of 1794 and 1795. This work contains many interesting elements. In the second and fourth movements echoes of Croatian folk melodies can be heard, whereas the third movement is a customary minuet. The subtitle of the symphony comes from the soft sound of timpani that opens it. The gloomy melody that sounds immediately after is a quote from the medieval sequence Dies irae, telling us about the last judgment. It has been quoted by many other composers, it has also penetrated pop culture and appeared in countless film scores, symbolizing horror and death. You can hear it in such different productions as It’s a Wonderful Life, Groundhog Day, The Lion King, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones.
The last piece in the programme is the violent and dark Symphony No. 4 in D minor op. 120 by Robert Schumann. This work consists of four movements performed without any breaks. The themes span the movements, giving it a coherence that is felt even without knowing this music very well. For this reason, this symphony is highly valued by researchers. But its popularity is due to the lively, communicative and energetic nature of the music.