SEASON CONCERT 5: CLOSE FRIENDS & DISTANT LOVERS

Thursday 28.03.2024 at 6pm Concert Hall

At 5.30 Atrium
PRE-TALK

Kuopio Symphony Orchestra
Students of the Kuopio Conservatory and the Savonia University of Applied Sciences
Eugene Tzigane, conductor
Anna-Liisa Bezrodny, violin
Jan-Erik Gustafsson, cello

Johannes Brahms: Double Concerto
Anton Bruckner: Symphony No 4

How do artists find inspiration? Some find it in nature, others in works of rivals. In the case of Johannes Brahms and his Double Concerto, he found inspiration in his collaboration with his life-long friend and world-famous violin virtuoso, Joseph Joachim. The piece was actually an olive branch Brahms extended to his old friend after a rift formed between them when Johannes took the side of Joachim’s wife during their divorce proceedings. Fortunate for us, Joachim’s loyalty to his old friend’s musical genius brought about a détente, resulting in this most unusual of gem for two soloists. One wonders that, if Joachim is the violin, then is the cello meant to be Brahms?

In the case of Anton Bruckner, I personally can’t avoid seeing him as a sort of fin-de-siècle Don Quixote of Upper Austria. He was a man simultaneously ‘of his time’ and ‘out of sync’. His provincial manerisms and often morbid obsessions struck his contemporaries as truly bizarre. He was a deeply religious man with a strong sense of duty to God. Yet in his 4th Symphony, he took his inspiration from the Age of Chivalry. The music evokes knights in shining armour, riding on horseback by day, singing songs in honor of distant damsels by night. There’s even a hunting Scherzo that is interrupted by a midday meal complete with barrel organ. But it is in the Finale that Bruckner turns to the sublime, combining mystery, exultation and religious fervor with delicate lyracism. The symphony culminates in a transcendental coda of epic proportions that calls back to the beginning of the symphony, bringing everything full circle. In our troubled times, Bruckner’s music can be an oasis away from the stress and noise of daily life. We hope our performance will give you some solace, spiritual renewal, and perhaps even a sense of connection to the divine. (Eugene Tzigane)

Produced by the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra
Tickets: 33 € / 27 € senior citizens and groups min. 20 persons / 11 € children under the age of 16 and students
4 € concert day discount ticket for students and young people under the age of 20

Prices include the Kuopio Music Centre service fee 2 € / ticket. The service fees vary depending on the place of purchase.