16 - 18 February 2017
Music Is Power
Mendelssohn’s music was notoriously banned in 1936 by a Nazi regime which labelled the Jewish composer “a dangerous accident of musical history”. Hartmann’s Concerto Funebre, dashed off in the autumn of 1939, represents the contrasting hope and hopelessness of a country plunged into war.
Arvo Pärt and Pēteris Vasks use their music as a vehicle for spiritual questioning, to transcendent effect, and Bach’s ebullient E major concerto is a testament to the pure, uplifting joy of melody and harmony.
Together with world-renowned Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova, join us for an exploration of the political, spiritual and emotional power of music.
- Mendelssohn
Sinfonia No. 6 in E flat major, MWV N6 - Arvo Pärt
Silouan’s Song - Hartmann
Concerto Funebre - Mendelssohn
Sinfonia No. 10 in B minor, MWV N10 Viatore - Pēteris Vasks
Viatore - Bach
Violin Concerto in E major, BWV 1042
Watch the Trailer
This is such a magical piece. Vasks takes you on an epic journey, evoking vast landscapes, brooding mountains and open seas, in contrast with sparkling ice crystals, dancing fireflies and laughing nymphs. The slow moving passages suggest human struggle - sometimes bleak, sometimes hopeful. I also love the ending - was it all a dream?!
