SCHNITTKE 90 & BACH

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH / arr. OTTORINO RESPIGHI Three Chorales for Orchestra P. 167

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH / arr. OTTORINO RESPIGHI Violin Sonata in E minor (after BWV 1023) P. 85

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH / arr. IGOR STRAVINSKY Choral Variations “Vom Himmel hoch da komm’ ich her”

ALFRED SCHNITTKE Symphony No. 4

Martin Pavlík violin

Choir Gaudeamus Brno

choirmaster Daša Karasová

Filharmonie Brno

conductor Robert Kružík

“For me, Bach is the unrivalled ideal who stands in the middle of it all. He is the centre, the sun that shines on all sides, whatever I am working on at the moment.” – Alfred Schnittke

Alfred Schnittke (1934–1998), a leading composer of the second half of the 20th century, would be 90 on 24 November 2024. He was the voice of his time, like Dmitri Shostakovich before him, and Schnittke’s works are a continuation of sorts of Shostakovich’s oeuvre. Recently, Schnittke has been regularly programmed by Filharmonie Brno in its concert seasons and at festivals. We commemorate Schnittke’s 90th birthday by performing his Fourth Symphony, composed in 1984. A profound work on a sacred theme, its structure refers to the Rosary and its motivic material is derived from melodic models adopted from Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant and Jewish music. This connection symbolically underlines the unity of humanity and appeals to mutual tolerance in matters of faith and culture, carrying a universally valid humanistic message that only becomes more urgent in our troubled times.

The concert can be purchased as a part of a full subscription at the Ticket office of Filharmonie Brno on Besední Street and online from 27 May 2024.
The concert will be sold separately from 17 June 2024.