TCHAIKOVSKY'S FIRST SYMPHONY. Stephanie Childress, Yamen Saadi and Albert Cano Smit

REPERTOIRE

Xavier Montsalvatge: Calidoscopi simfònic, Op. 61 (1955) 16′
Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 (1945) 24′ (friday)
Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat major, Op. 10 (1911-1912) 15′ (saturday)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No 1 in G minor “Winter Dreams”, Op. 13 (1868; rev. 1886) 44′

ARTISTS

Stephanie Childress, conductor
Albert Cano Smit, piano
Yamen Saadi, violin
Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (OBC)

PROGRAMME

With a title in which colour acts as a declaration of principles, Xavier Montsalvatge’s Calidoscopi Simfònic will open a concert that includes two solo performances with orchestra.

The first, Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Concerto for Violin in D major, written in 1945, is a beguiling virtuoso work, in which exploration enhances expression, without losing sight of the concert tradition. The programme also includes Sergei Prokofiev’s First Piano Concerto, which begins with an emphatic display of sound by the orchestra and the soloist, indicative of the young composer’s aspirations.

Another first is the “Winter Dreams” Symphony, which Tchaikovsky dedicated to the musician Nikolai Rubinstein. Completing the work was a long, painful process at a time when the composer’s morale was low. Almost twenty years later, he produced a revised version of this fascinating creation, which alludes to the soundscape he had in mind.