Two of the works in this Fridays NZSO concert revolve around the darker side and to war and the pessimism related to heroes and heroics. One is a short work by Penderecki responding to the fate of Hiroshima while the other, Beethoven's Eroica was inten
EROICA, The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Antoni Wit conductor
Sébastien Hurtaud cello
Penderecki Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima
Haydn Cello Concerto No. 2
Beethoven Symphony No. 3 Eroica
Auckland Town Hall
Fri 27 May 7 pm
Two of the works in this Fridays NZSO concert revolve around the darker side and to war and the pessimism related to heroes and heroics. One is a short work by Penderecki responding to the fate of Hiroshima while the other, Beethoven’s Eroica was intended to be dedicated to Napoleon until the compser rededicated it enraged that Napoleon declared himself Emperor.
Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima which was was composed in 1959 was one of the significant contemporary works of the post war period and is one of Penderecki’s best works. The serial techniques which he used were one of the new contemporary music forms. These were normally used in an abstract way to explore ideas about music
Penderecki however used the music to create a personal work which linked the destruction of his homelands Poland with the fate of the people of Hiroshima and is disturbing in its evocations of human misery and terror.
Though it is dedicated to the victims of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima at the end of the Second World War, Penderecki drew on his own experiences in Nazi-occupied Poland in composing the work.
This focus on grief and horror was later explored in his major opera The Devils of Loudon which is also a parable about the fascism and corruption.
Threnody is scored for 52 strings, and features a number of spectacular instrumental effects -- most significantly microtonal glissandi. Threnody is also a work of limited elements: musical gestures are represented graphically on the score, but the performers are at times allowed some freedom in the realization of musical elements like pitch and duration. The work is divided roughly into three sections, with the outermost sections allowing the greatest freedom for the performers. At certain points in the score, performers may simply play their instruments' highest notes, or, when pitch is specified, performers may move from pitch to pitch by quarter tones.
Penderecki also demands unconventional bowing for effect, including bowing between the bridge and the tailpiece, and bowing the bridge or tailpiece. He also calls for striking the soundboard with the fingers.
The major work on the programme is Beethoven’s Symphony No 3, The Eroica. It marks a turning point in the history of music; the work in which the young Beethoven transformed the symphony into a vehicle for the expression of the most profound emotions. Inspired by grand hope and brutal disappointment.
The symphony grips the listener with its sense of urgency and deeply felt emotion, presaging the ascendancy of the Romantic vision. Beethoven’s teacher, Haydn, wrote his concerti for leading members of the Esterhazy court orchestra, celebrating the productive relationship he enjoyed with them over 30 years. The second concerto for cello shows Haydn in galant style, a perfect vehicle for the stylish elegance of Sébastien Hurtaud, winner of the 2009 Adam International Cello Competition.
