Koncert Symfoniczny by Wagner, Richard, Beethoven, Hindemith, Bach, J. S., lr. 09 mar. 2024, Noiztik (2024/2024), Zuzendaria Andrey Boreyko, Filharmonia Narodowa, Warsaw, Poland

Although nowadays it is hard to imagine a virtuoso violinist not returning regularly to Ludwig van Beethoven’s monumental Concerto in D major, Op. 61, described as the king of the genre, this composition took quite some time to generate wider interest among performers and listeners. Commentators have wondered how much the work’s cool reception was affected by the composer himself, who continued making corrections up to the very last minute. The first wholly successful performance only came after the composer’s death, with the brilliant 12-year-old violinist Joseph Joachim as soloist. The conductor on that occasion was Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, known to have been a great propagator of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. The growing interest in the oeuvre of the Leipzig cantor gave rise to numerous orchestral transcriptions of his solo works, including organ chorales. Many twentieth-century composers were also strongly influenced by Bach, including his compatriot Paul Hindemith. His three-movement symphony Mathis der Maler – later incorporated into an opera of the same title – refers to even earlier times. The work’s protagonist is the Renaissance artist Matthias Grünewald. The movements of this work suggestively illustrate scenes immortalised on his famous altar piece in Isenheim. Based on mediaeval legends, meanwhile, is the libretto of Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin. The prelude to the first act of that opera will be performed at the start of our concert. Bartłomiej Gembicki