Simon Rattle conducts Dvořák, Elgar and a première
In this concert, the Berliner Philharmoniker take a musical journey to neighbouring European countries. Simon Rattle conducts a work from his native England: Edward Elgar’s unusually orchestrated Introduction and Allegro for string quartet and string orchestra, followed by the Slavonic Dances by Antonín Dvořák. In addition, a series initiated by Sir Simon of world premieres of short works begins, under the title “Tapas”.
Born in England in 1967, Julian Anderson has been described by the Evening Standard as the “most talented composer of his generation”. His orchestral work entitled Incantesimi (“Magic Spells”) was commissioned by the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation, the London Royal Philharmonic Society and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and is dedicated to Sir Simon Rattle. Anderson studied under Olivier Messiaen and Tristan Murail among others, and his style is also heavily influenced by non-European musical languages. Incantesimi, in which the cor anglais plays a prominent role, is the beginning of a series of premieres of short works which Sir Simon and the Berliner Philharmoniker are presenting as of this season under the title of “Tapas”.
Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro was commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra, which first performed it in March 1905 under the direction of the composer. In this effective and unusually orchestrated work, Elgar integrates Baroque formal elements such as a fugue into a Classical sonata, while clearly retaining the unmistakable late Romantic expressive style of the composer.
In 1878, Antonín Dvořák only received 300 marks from Fritz Simrock for his first cycle of Slavonic Dances. A spectacular deal for the publisher, as the dances – both in the original version for piano duet and in the orchestral version – quickly became a bestseller, and simultaneously marked the international breakthrough of the composer. Individual dances of the series can be heard regularly, whereas performances of the entire cycle are a rarity.
© 2016 Berlin Phil Media GmbH
Artists
Our recommendations
- Simon Rattle with Mitsuko Uchida and Amihai Grosz
- Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 3 with Mitsuko Uchida and Simon Rattle
- Simon Rattle presents Schoenberg’s sensuous side
- Europakonzert from Prague with Sir Simon Rattle and Magdalena Kožená
- Simon Rattle conducts Mahler’s Second Symphony
- Simon Rattle and Magdalena Kožená with songs by Dvořák and Mahler