Christian a Tanja Tetzlaff perform Brahms with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra
Finnish conductor Eva Ollikainen will lead the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra in presenting two 19th-century masterpieces: Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique and Johannes Brahms’ Double Concerto. Renowned German violinist Ch.Tetzlaff and his sister, cellist Tanja play the solo parts in the latter. The performance takes place at the Rudolfinum Dvořák Hall on Monday 18 December at 7:30 p.m. The concert will be broadcast live on ČRo Vltava and rebroadcast on ČRo D-dur.
Brahms wrote the Double Concerto in A minor for his friends, violinist Joseph Joachim and cellist Robert Hausmann. Its peculiar feature is the interplay between the low and high tones of both instruments, which the author blends in harmony, rather than accentuating their contrast. The Double Concerto, Brahms’ last great symphonic opus, shows melancholy and chaste restraint typical for the composer’s musical style, while revealing his unusually open sensibility in the broad melodies. The middle movement in particular unfolds a beautiful lyrical and ardent theme. The finale exhibits philosophical undertones with hints of the gypsy temperament.
In composing his Symphonie Fantastique, Hector Berlioz found inspiration in his initially unrequited love for the famous actress Harriet Smithson. He admired her in the roles of Ophelia and Juliet in Shakespeare’s plays performed at the Odéon Theatre in Paris. His feelings are reflected in the exalted, strongly autobiographical and also distinctly innovative symphony. Throughout the composition sounds an idée fixe, or a recurring musical motif, altered or deformed in various ways, that helps to convey extra-musical ideas, from love enchantment to a feverish ironic grin. The opus, originally titled Episode in the Life of an Artist, premiered at the Paris Conservatory hall in December 1830. Interestingly, Berlioz did eventually marry Henrietta Smithson in 1833, but their marriage broke up.
PROGRAMME:
Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra in A minor, Op. 102
Hector Berlioz (1803–1869)
Symphonie fantastique, op. 14
Eva Ollikainen conductor
Christian Tetzlaff violin
Tanja Tetzlaff cello
Live broadcast of the concert / ČRo Vltava
Concert recording / ČRo D-dur / 20 December / 8:00 p.m.
