30. 3. 2017
Petr Nouzovský
F. Schubert: Symphony no. 8 in B minor - "Unfinished"
S. Prokofiev: Symphony-Concerto for cello and orchestra, E minor, op. 125
Soloist: Petr Nouzovský, cello
Conductor: Kaspar Zehnder
Sergey Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto is an impressive work in the whole range of music composed for the cello, as well as an enduring contribution to the development of the musical art. Both thematically and in its overall finish, Prokofiev reaches deep into the emotions with this work, in which powerfully directed dramatic sweeps alternate with Prokofiev's trademark overstated sense of irony and the grotesque, quickly counterbalanaced by expansive melodic passages conjuring up feelings of unbridled extravagance. The solo part, borrowed in places from his Cello Concerto no. 1, was completed in collaboration with the great cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, to whom the work was also dedicated.
The solo part in this concerto is performed by one of our most accomplished cellists Petr Nouzovský, whose outstanding artistry also featured in last year's concert season here in Zlín.
Franz Schubert's outlook on life was essentially optimistic, so the melancholic - not to say pessimistic - dimension of this two-movement "Unfinished" symphony, whose origins are shrouded in mystery, comes as a shock. Nonetheless it is one of the most popular and favoured works in the history of music.
This concert is conducted by the Swiss flautist and conductor Kaspar Zehnder, who was chief conductor of the PKF Prague Philharmonia until 2008.
Thursday 6. 4. 2017