Plavi Ciklus Wagner / Dešpalj / Schubert by Wagner, Richard, Dešpalj, Schubert, pá 15 pro 2023, Od (2023/2023), Dirigent Elisabeth Fuchs, Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall, Zagreb, Croatia

Homage to our honorary chief conductor Pavlo Dešpalje. As a template for his opera, Wagner took the content of the 13th century legend about the knight Tannhäuser and ancient Germanic myths. The overture, which is on the program of tonight's concert, was composed after the entire opera, and in it Wagner uses the leitmotifs of all the important characters from the opera. This is a characteristic of his creativity. The premiere was conducted by the composer himself in 1845 at the Hoftheater in Dresden. Maestro Pavle Dešpalj , a great connoisseur of string instruments, composed the Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Strings in 1963 . The concerto is virtuosic and extremely demanding both for the solo saxophone and for the string corps of the orchestra. The first and third movements of the concert are equally rhythmic, playful and virtuosic in character. The second movement has an interesting melody, and its ending, which is inspired by the author's solo saxophone accompanied by a string quartet, is especially memorable. Franz Schubert , a composer from the period of early romanticism, paved the way for other musicians and authors of the same period. Among his orchestral works, the famous Unfinished Symphony is the most famous , but also Symphony no. 9 called Velika which we will hear today. Unfortunately, the composer did not experience its premiere. It is so extensive and technically demanding that, even ten years after the composer's death, they refused to perform it in Paris and London. It will delight you with the elegant simplicity of the melody and the previously unknown harmonic accompaniment. There are no exact records, but we assume that it was first performed only in 1839 in Leipzig, and that the performance was directed by F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. This composition still represents a challenge for both the conductor and the orchestra due to the stylistic and technical demands that Schubert places on them.