Launching the season with Beethoven
It was a splendid show – on 26 September the Prague Radio Symphony orchestra commemorated its 90th birthday with its supporters, season-ticket holders and other distinguished guests at the Dvořák Hall.
For this special occasion, principal conductor Ondrej Lenárd has opted for the works of a single composer, Ludwig van Beethoven, works that celebrate great emotion, heroism, noble struggle and human freedom.
The Coriolan Overture is based on a tragic tale of unhealthy pride and just punishment but also deep love for a mother.
Its C minor key, which Beethoven also employed in the Fate Symphony (no. 5) and the Sonata Pathétique, once again sounds lofty and dramatic in this piece. The quiet conclusion of the overture is exceptional. As if the hero has vanished from the world without being at all noticed.
Beethoven’s sole concert for violin is uncommonly lyrical, offering a kind of softened parallel to the composer’s heroic expression. Following its premiere it was regarded as being musically lovely, if not so fortunately written for violin. Gradually musicians took to the solo part and today there isn’t a single solo violinist whose repertoire does not contain the composition. You can look forward to the performance of Jan Mráček, a distinctive figure among young Czech violinists who won the International Fritz Kreisler Competition in Vienna in 2014.
And the Eroica Symphony (no. 30)? Without exaggeration, it represents a milestone in the history of music. In it Beethoven never ceases to astound us with a variety of ideas, innovations, fascinating approaches and moments. It is also worth mentioning a delightful fact: Prior to its public premiere, the Eroica Symphony was performed in our country – at a private concert for the Lobkowicz family at the Jezeří Chateau in Northern Bohemia.
