Jakub Hrůša conducts Mozart and Mendelssohn Bartholdy

Erlangen, Heinrich-Lades-Halle
20:00 Uhr

Wondrous enchantment of the faery realm! While composing his outstanding violin concerto, Mendelssohn said: »I sense that with each piece, I am getting closer to writing precisely what I feel in my heart.« The concerto was soon described as an »evergreen«: it was written in 1844 during a happy summer holiday in Bad Soden in the Taunus. In his letters, Mendelssohn waxed lyrical about the many flowers, the unbelievable pear and apple trees and century-old oaks. He produced a work with numerous magical melodies, full of scintillating drama and elvish romance. Mendelssohn dedicated the concerto to Ferdinand David, who promised that he would »practice it so well that the angels in heaven will rejoice«. Not only the angels will rejoice to hear our soloist Serge Zimmermann’s masterful interpretation! Our concerts will combine Mendelssohn’s concerto with Mozart’s popular last symphonies, which were written in a veritable creative frenzy during a time of great financial difficulty. Despite these obstacles, Mozart created musical milestones and a »divine legacy« for those that followed after him. The symphonies give musical expression to a range of different emotions – including unrest, passion and agitation, lamentation and despair. Under our principal conductor’s baton, we will also be bringing a famous »Punch« character of Russian popular theatre to the concert stage: Stravinsky took the »terrible confusion« of the tragicomic tale of Petrushka as the basis for a ballet with numerous stylised folk melodies, a large dash of irony and a brilliantly sophisticated sound palette – and the suite is likewise a true symphonic »play about the eternal misfortunes of the fairground hero«!

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Serge Zimmermann Violin

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphonie Nr. 40 g-Moll KV 550
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Konzert für Violine und Orchester e-Moll op. 64
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphonie Nr. 41 C-Dur KV 551 »Jupiter«