On May 30, 2025, at 7:00 PM, during the season-closing concert of the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic under the baton of Maestro Christoph Eschenbach, audiences will hear Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1. The performance of the famous Titan will be preceded by the premiere of a new work by Agata Zubel, a composer born in Wrocław — Non-Academic Overture, commissioned by the NFM as part of the "Composers' Commissions" program.
The Non-Academic Overture is a kind of response to the Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80 by Johannes Brahms. Often referred to as a "romantic classic," Brahms composed it in 1880 as a token of gratitude for having been awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Wrocław the previous year. In this highly effective and brilliantly orchestrated piece, the composer included quotations from a variety of student songs, among them the academic anthem Gaudeamus igitur. The use of this melody has made the overture a lasting symbol with which the academic community continues to identify.
Zubel, deeply connected to the cultural heart of Lower Silesia, deliberately references this historical work, thus inscribing herself into the musical legacy of the city.
The composition was co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund — a state special-purpose fund — under the "Composers' Commissions" program implemented by the National Institute of Music and Dance.
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC
More: https://www.nfm.wroclaw.pl/component/nfmcalendar/event/11270
