STAGIONE SINFONICA 2022
MENDELSSOHN BARTHOLDY | DVOŘÁK
Ido Arad, conductor
Veriko Tchumburidze, violin
Teatro Comunale di Bologna Orchestra
PROGRAM
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Concerto for violin and orchestra in E minor, op. 64
Age of composition: 1844
First performance: 13 marzo 1845, Lipsia
Movements:
- Allegro molto appassionato
- Andante
- Allegretto non troppo – Allegro molto vivace
The last solo concert composed by Felix Mendelssogn (who died two years later, in 1847, only thirty-six years old), is also one of the most famous of all violin literature. Deservedly famous, for the immediate recognizability and attractiveness of its themes, from the initial passionate Allegro to the poetic and spiritual cantabilità of the Andante, up to a Allegretto non troppo – Allegro vivace quanto mai affabile e brillante. Captivating and of undoubted effect, the concert boasts, however, above all a writing of the highest quality and refinement, which made him loved by many of the greatest violinists, starting from the first performer, Ferdinand David, who collaborated with Mendelssohn in the exhausting drafting undertaken in 1838.
Antonín Dvořák
Symphony No. 7 in D minor, op. 70
Age of composition: 1884-1885
First performance: 22 aprile 1885, Londra
Movements:
- Allegro maestoso
- Poco adagio
- Scherzo: Vivace – Poco meno mosso
- Finale: Allegro
The fact that Dvořák did not consider his first four symphonies to be worthy of publication, also mixing the chronology of the following (the Seventh came out as the second) speaks volumes about his tortuous path towards international affirmation. Identified, between Smetana and Janáček, with the Czech school, with its Slavic dances (1878) gained popularity beyond the Austro-Hungarian borders and in London, invited for a series of concerts, he was commissioned a Symphony. The Seventh was born, in which Dvořák demonstrates the wide breadth of his art, with the Brahms model well present. The success was immediate, however the author remained doubtful about the quality of his work and only in 1889 with the direction of von Bülow convinced him fully.
ORCHESTRA DEL TEATRO COMUNALE DI BOLOGNA
With its long-standing tradition, the Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna has been led by Musical Directors like Sergiu Celibidache,Zoltán Peskó, Vladimir Delman, Riccardo Chailly, Daniele Gatti, Michele Mariotti. Some of the conductors who have worked with the ensemble include Gary Bertini, Myung-Whun Chung, James Conlon, Pinchas Steinberg, Valery Gergiev, Eliau Inbal, Vladimir Jurowskij, Daniel Oren, Peter Maag, Neville Marriner, Kurt Masur, Riccardo Muti, Mstislav Rostropovič, Esa Pekka Salonen, Georg Solti, Christian Thielemann, Charles Dutoit, Georges Prêtre. The Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale is often invited abroad (The Netherlands, Romania, Spain, France, and Switzerland) and has played in many prestigious festivals (Amsterdam 1987, Parma 1990, Wiesbaden 1994, Santander 2004 and 2008, Aix en Provence 2005, Savonlinna 2006, Macao 2013, Muscat 2015, Guanajuato in Mexico 2017, Paris 2018). A special connection with Japan has brought to several tours, including the tour in June 2019 in Osaka, Tokyo, Yokohama, Fukuoka, with performances of Rigoletto and of Il Barbiere di Siviglia.
Its numerous recordings include La Favoriteconducted by Richard Bonynge; Oberto Conte di San Bonifacio conducted by Zoltán Peskó, Il Barbiere di Siviglia conducted by Giuseppe Patané, La Fille du Régiment conducted by Bruno Campanella, Le Maschere and La Bohème conducted by Gianluigi Gelmetti, La Scala di Seta conducted by Gabriele Ferro, Macbeth, Manon Lescaut, Rigoletto, La Cenerentola, Messa Solenne, and the video production of Vespri siciliani and Giovanna d’Arco and Werther conducted by Riccardo Chailly, Armide conducted by Daniele Gatti, Simon Boccanegra and Attila conducted by Michele Mariotti.
The Orchestra, conducted by Mariotti, has recorded a CD under the label Decca with sacred arias sung by Juan Diego Flórez, and an album under Sony with Romantic arias sung by Nino Machaidze; under Deutsche Grammophon Le Comte Ory with Flórez, and La Nuit de Mai – a selection or arias and songs by Leoncavallo – with Placido Domingo; and under the label PENTATONE it released a CD containing overtures by Rossini, to celebrate 150 years since the death of the composer. In April 2021 the Orchestra recorded under Deutsche Grammophon an album coming out soon with the tenor Benjamin Bernheim and Frédéric Chaslin on the podium.
In March 2013 the artistic ensembles of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, led by Mariotti, opened the IV International Festival Mstislav Rostropovich in Moscow, where they performed Verdi’s Messa da Requiem. In October 2015, again with Mariotti on the podium, they opened the Lingotto Music Festival at the Auditorium Giovanni Agnelli in Turin, where they performed Stabat Mater by Rossini, and his Overture and Ballet Music from Guillaume Tell. The Teatro Comunale’s 2018 production of La Bohème conducted by Mariotti and staged by Graham Vick received the Abbiati Award as best show.
After working with the Rossini Opera Festival for nearly thirty years (from 1988 to 2016), the year 2017 brought new collaborations between the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and the Verdi Festival in Parma, where the Orchestra performed, among other productions, the Stiffelio directed by Graham Vick. Staged at the Teatro Farnese, the show was highly appreciated by audience and critics alike and was granted the Special Prize at the 37thedition of the “Franco Abbiati” Critics award. The Orchestra’s engagements with the Verdi Festival in 2019 included Luisa Miller at the Chiesa di San Francesco del Prato in Parma, and Aida at the Teatro Verdi in Busseto, and in 2020 a symphonic concert at the Parco Ducale in Parma conducted by Valery Gergiev.
Since January 2022, the Musical Director of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna has been Oksana Lyniv.