Bruch Concerto & Brahms 2nd Symphony

Repertoire

Performers

Programme notes

Concert music, as well as reaching our hearts and stirring our emotions, can often entertain us, astonish us, and surprise us. Some symphonic works leave us fixed into our armchairs with our mouths open. This was Max Bruch’s wager when he composed his Violin Concerto. He asked for advice from the best violinist of the day, the Hungarian Joseph Joachim, and managed to create an absolutely spectacular work. To prove that, there is no one better than the young French violinist Alexandra Soumm, who returns to collaborate once again with our orchestra after her resounding success of three seasons ago with the Tchaikovsky concert.

Johannes Brahms took many years to make up his mind, but in the end he did: at 43 he composed his First Symphony. He was not sure if the audience would like the score because he felt overwhelmed by the influence of Beethoven. But it was a triumph, and same year he began composing his Second, a cheerful, bright and fresh work. He himself recognized that nature, among the mountains of southern Austria, had been his main inspiration: “The air of Caríntia is so full of winged melodies that you have to be careful not to step on them.”