Bernstein and Mahler Gala
Rudolfinum, 1 October 2018 at 7:30 p.m.
Leonard Bernstein: Chichester Psalms
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 4
John Axelrod - conductor
Chen Reiss - soprano
Czech Philharmonic Choir of Brno
The inaugural concert of the 92nd season will be in honour of Leonard Bernstein, from whose birthday it will have been exactly one hundred years on 25 August. As a composer Bernstein is primarily known as the author of what is today already a classic musical, West Side Story. The programme however presents him as an author of spiritual music who avows the European tradition of classical music as well as his own Jewish roots.
The evening opens with the Chichester Psalms, which Bernstein composed in 1965 commissioned by the dean of the Chichester Cathedral in Sussex, England. The text of the Old Testament psalms was set to music in the Hebrew original, the specific rhythm of which predetermined the rhythmically lively nature of the music.
The most highly qualified US conductor John Axelrod, who became Bernstein's pupil at just sixteen years of age, will then in the second half of the evening present the lyrical Symphony No. 4 by Bernstein's beloved Gustav Mahler. The solo vocal part in both parts will be assumed by Israeli soprano Chen Reiss, who works with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Simon Rattle and Daniele Gatti.
Ticket prices: CZK 550 / 450 / 400 / 350 / 220 / 100
