Philzuid

With his Violin Concerto, Brahms completed one of his absolute crown jewels. For Philzuid concertmaster Lei Wang, a dream comes true. A violin concerto that is unparalleled in terms of tension and acuity. Inspired by his muse, top violinist, and good friend Joseph Joachim, Brahms wrote a wide-ranging concerto that ticks all the emotional boxes. The eternal bachelor Brahms had gathered a circle of dear friends around him, including the Schumanns and Joachim. Brahms, who always doubted himself, found a reliable sparring partner in the conscientious Joachim. In 1878, Brahms reluctantly wrote to Joachim that he had ‘a few violin passages’ ready. Joachim immediately urged him to work on a dream violin concerto. This modest project would result in a monumental, three-part violin concerto that is seen as a personal portrait of violin maestro Joseph Joachim. In an impressive opening allegro, Brahms plays with melodies and themes as never before, with the soloist and orchestra encouraging each other in turn. In the moving Adagio, soloist and orchestra together raise an inspired song. Brahms’ Violin Concerto does not reveal its secrets easily. The violin soloist reaches deep into his reserves, searching for the limits of technique and empathy. Lei Wang, concertmaster of Philzuid, together with her orchestra, fulfills a long-cherished violin dream.

Philzuid opens the concert with a special surprise: the stormy Faust Overture by Brahms’ contemporary, the German Romantic composer Emilie Mayer. With this suspenseful work, she fully lives up to her nickname ‘the female Beethoven’.

The impressive finale is an intriguing performance of Shostakovich’s youthful First Symphony. It is the self-assured orchestral debut of a teenager already brimming with brilliant creative ideas. This symphony premiered on May 12, 1926, and throughout his life, Shostakovich considered that joyful moment to be the birth of his career as a composer. The young Shostakovich displays a strikingly mature sound, with room for venom, humor, and virtuosity. Like his great example Mahler, Shostakovich masterfully makes use of marches , and waltzes. At the time, top conductors such as Bruno Walter and Otto Klemperer were fans of the work. A hundred years later, Taiwanese guest conductor Tung-Chieh Chuang reveals the enormous contemporary expressiveness of Shostakovich’s successful work.

Program

Mayer – Faust Ouverture, Opus 46
Brahms – Violin Concerto, Opus 77 in D
Sjostakovitsj – Symfonye No. 1, Opus 10