On the 7th of April 2018 at The Witold Lutoslawski Concert Studio of Polish Radio, the Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra, conducted by Juozas Domarkas, with the participation of well-known pianist Eugen Indjic, will have the honour to perform thenext symphonic concert.
Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major was dubbed “Emperor” while the composer was still alive, although – as is the case of most such monikers – it did not come from him. Perhaps the name was due to the dedication of the piece to Archduke Rudolf Hapsburg, or – what is more likely – the heroic, monumental, and even military character of the work, already foreshadowed by the tone of "Eroica". The part of the orchestra is even more independent here than in Concerto No. 4, and this treatment is a preview of the “symphonic” concerts of the era of Romanticism and Neo-Romanticism. The concerto will be performed by Eugen Indjic – an American Pianist of Russian-Serbian descent, winner of the 4th prize at the 8th International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. The artist, who is among the most prominent pianists of his generation, is a particularly acclaimed performer of the Romantic repertoire, especially the music of Chopin, as well as the Neo- and Post-Romantics: Liszt, Rachmaninov, and others.
In August 1873, Viktor Hartmann, Russian painter, draughtsman, book illustrator and architect, died suddenly at the age of 39. He had a close friendship with Modest Mussorgsky, who was significantly affected by the painter’s death. Hartmann was soon commemorated by an exhibition of paintings, drawings, watercolours, sketches, and architectural projects. Mussorgsky recalled that he perceived the works very “musically” – while touring the exhibition, themes and motifs sprang to his mind, which he quickly wrote down and so in June 1874, the Pictures at an Exhibition suite was created, called an “album” by the composer himself. He immortalised ten visions of Hartmann in the sounds, such as the sketches from a visit to Sandomierz in Poland (the composer captured the portraits of two local Jews in “Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuÿle”, a miniature that suggestively contrasts both figures).Mussorgsky’s brilliant suite was not appreciated until the 20th century, especially thanks to a dazzling orchestration by Ravel (1922), who was enchanted by the complex piano texture of Mussorgsky’s miniatures. Taking his place at the conductor’s pulpit will be Juozas Domarkas, an extremely distinguished Lithuanian conductor, a long-time head of the National Symphony Orchestra in Vilnius and a respected lecturer at the Warsaw Academy of Music.
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.
More information at: www.sinfoniaiuventus.pl
