TO BE, OR NOT TO BE

PĒTERIS VASKS Cello Concerto No. 1
WILLIAM WALTON / arr. CHRISTOPHER PALMER Hamlet: A Shakespeare Scenario

Jiří Bárta violoncello
Simon Callow speaker
Filharmonie Brno
conductor Rumon Gamba

Vasks 80
Pēteris Vasks, who will turn 80 on 16 April 2026, is one of the world’s most successful contemporary composers, and a resounding voice of the Latvian nation, sometimes “disappearing” in history, sometimes proudly rising up. The burden of history, undying hope, pride, but also the peculiarity of Baltic nature and Latvian folklore – these are the starting points of Vasks’ neo-romantically oriented works, which, however, take on a universal character and are accompanied by a deep spirituality, strong emotionality and humanistic message. The first cello concerto was commissioned by Sender Freies Berlin (German Free Broadcasting) and dedicated to the famous Lithuanian cellist David Geringas, who premiered it on 26 November 1994 in Berlin with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under the baton of Artur Tamayo.

To be, or not to be: that is the question… / To be, or not to be: that is the question…
The film Hamlet (1948), in a distinctive directorial and acting interpretation by Laurence Olivier, considered an authority on Shakespearean roles in the world of theatre and film, forms a group with Henry V (1944) and Richard III. (Hamlet became the first non-American film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture (which Olivier also received for Best Performance in a Leading Role). Walton’s evocative music was adapted into a concert suite by Christopher Palmer.

Simon Callow
The narrative part, which includes two famous Hamlet monologues, will be performed by the famous English
actor Simon Callow, whom film fans will know from Miloš Forman’s Amadeus and Mike Newell’s Four Weddings and a Funeral.

When on sale?

You can buy the concert on its own or as part of the “CREATE YOUR OWN” season subscription from 9 June 2025 (8am) when non-renewed subscriptions are released.

The concert can be purchased as a part of the SUBSCRIPTION (Filharmonie in the Theatre I) ONLINE from 29 April and at the Ticket Office of Filharmonie Brno since 12 May 2025.

SUBSCRIOPTION RENEWAL is possible immediately when confirmed by email about the reservation in the 70th season.

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