The Brno Philharmonic returns to the festival with an innovative programme consisting of a piano concerto by Philip Glass, one of New York’s foremost contemporary composers, and a symphonic masterpiece by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, a native of Brno who enjoyed a successful career in Hollywood.
Korngold composed his Symphony in F-sharp major in 1951, when he was already living in the USA, where he had emigrated during the 1930s to escape the Nazi regime in Europe. At that time, Korngold established himself as one of the foremost film composers in Hollywood, but the Symphony in F-sharp major shows his continued connection to the forms of classical concert music that were close to him. The symphony was first performed in 1952 in Los Angeles and has since gained wide recognition for its melodic richness and technical skill.
The piano concerto is based on Glass’s music for the biographical film Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985), which tells the story of the famous Japanese writer and warrior Yukio Mishima. The concerto was premiered on July 7, 2023.
programme
Philip Glass / arr. Michael Riesman:
Mishima Concerto for piano and orchestra
Erich Wolfgang Korngold:
Symphony in F-sharp major, Op. 40
I. Moderato, ma energico
II. Scherzo: Allegro molto – Trio
III. Adagio: Lento
IV. Finale: Allegro gaio
performers
Maki Namekawa – piano
Brno Philharmonic
Conductor Dennis Russell Davies
photogallery
