The Residentie Orkest will perform works by Haydn, Hartmann, Shostakovich, Saint-Saëns, Wieniawski, Tchaikovsky, Gershwin, Mendelssohn, and Florence Price at concerts in the Nieuwe Kerk and Amare in September. The conductors will be Chloe Rooke, Andrew Grams, and chief conductor Jun Märkl. The soloists are renowned violinists Maria Milstein and Karen Gomyo, as well as Bomsori Kim, the new artist in residence, who will perform at the Prinsjesdag concert.
Fri 12 Sep, 8.15 p.m., Nieuwe Kerk: EIGHTY YEARS LATER
This concert, eighty years after the end of the Second World War, is all about reflection and connection. Shostakovich’s Third String Quartet, in a version for string orchestra, is a moving tribute to all war victims. At the premiere in Moscow, the composer couldn’t hold back his tears. In his Concerto funebre, written on the eve of the war, Karl Amadeus Hartmann expressed his fear of tyranny in a powerful protest. With soloist Maria Milstein, the violin sounds like a voice of resistance. Haydn’s Trauersinphonie,conducted by Chloe Rooke, concludes the evening by raising the question of how we move forward. The music brings together mourning and consolation, inviting us to reflect on what really matters.
Tue 16 Sep, 8.15 p.m., Amare: PRINSJESDAG CONCERT WITH BOMSORI KIM
Violinists love Henryk Wieniawski’s challenging, dramatic, and lyrical Fantaisie brillante. There is no better piece with which to introduce the new artist in residence, top violinist Bomsori Kim. She will showcase her technical expertise and sense of drama, for the first time together with the new chief conductor, Jun Märkl. But first, the dead will rise for a devilish dance during Saint-Saëns’Danse macabre. A very different dance is the romantic finale to the Prinsjesdag Concert: Swan Lake. Tchaikovsky’s brilliant orchestration captures the emotion, tension, and magic of this famous ballet.
Sun 28 Sep, 2.15 p.m., Amare: AN AMERICAN DREAM
After fleeing America’s stifling South in the 1930s, African-American composer Florence Price composed her Symphony No. 3 during the Harlem Renaissance in Chicago. In this work, European symphonic traditions merge with African-American influences: spirituals, blues and rhythm. A perfect match for American conductor Andrew Grams. Price’s deep, proud sounds contrast with a particularly melodic sound: Mendelssohn’s world-famous Violin Concerto. This lyrical masterpiece is performed by violinist Karen Gomyo. The concert opens with Gershwin’s energetic An American in Paris, a vibrant ode to the city of lights where jazz and classical music meet.
Photos above: Maria Milstein, Bomsori Kim & Karen Gomyo
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