Violinist, violist and conductor, Julian Rachlin is one of the most brilliant and appreciated musicians of our time. During his early career as a soloist he performed alongside the most prestigious orchestras and the greatest conductors. He has recently established himself as a very successful director, acknowledged for his dynamic style and vibrant interpretations, thanks to an evergrowing presence on international stages. He is principal guest conductor of the Royal Northern Symphony, the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra and the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra.

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

Ouverture from The Creatures of Prometheus

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

Concerto for violin and orchestra n. 3 in G major

K 216

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

Symphony n. 6 in F major op. 68 “Pastorale”

Ouverture from The Creatures of Prometheus

Year of composition: 1800

First performance: Burgtheater Vienna, March 28, 1801

The creatures of Prometheus is the only ballet set to music by Beethoven. It constitutes the op. 43 within the Beethovian catalogue and is composed of three acts. Despite the positive reception by the public in its debut, in retrospect the success of the ballet was due to the Ouverture alone, by the refined style and an imaginative character.

Symphony n. 6 in F major  op. 68 “Pastorale”

Year of composition: 1807/1808

First performance: Vienna, Theater an der Wien, December 22, 1808

Movements:
1. Allegro ma non troppo
2. Andante molto mosso
3. Allegro
4. Allegro
5. Allegretto

The Pastoral Symphony represents a new expressive aim, as noted by Beethoven himself: “The listeners should be allowed to discover the situations. […] Titles will not be required to recognize the general intention to be more a matter of feeling than of painting in sounds”. Everything is already clear from the first movement that stretches like a wave of well-being, marked by rare harmonic contrasts that lead to the contemplation of Nature. The unleashing of the orchestra that surges and shakes in the Thunderstorm followed by the tranquility on which the song of thanksgiving is progressively heightened by the entire orchestra in the finale. To increase the intensity of the Thunderstorm there is the intervention of instruments missing in the previous movements, such as trombones, timpani and the piccolo.

Concerto for violin and orchestra n. 3 in G major  K 216

Year of composition: 1775

Movements:
1. Allegro
2. Adagio
3. Rondeau, allegro

In the K. 216 concert, the dialogue between the solo instrument with the all orchestral is particularly ingenious: the orchestra continually invites the soloist to engage in dialogue, and organically follows the formation of the other four concerts of 1775; the clarinets and bassoons are absent, while a pair of horns are always present, imprinting the whole ensemble with persuasive and measured precision. The oboes, the only protagonists of the very small section of the (woodwinds) in the first half, are replaced by the flutes in the Adagio, a beautiful concert movement that introduces a new expressive and an almost “talking” way of treating the violin by Mozart. The third movement, Rondeau (Allegro), is closer in form to the French example. After the transition to the dominant tone (D major) in the second movement we return to the Sol in Rondeau, that restores the oboes in place of flutes.