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We will begin the program under the direction of Krzysztof Urbański with a composition that evokes a moving lament: Penderecki's "Threnos" is dedicated to the victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. The use of 52 string instruments, with extreme playing techniques, creates a chilling atmosphere. When the powerful work was premiered in Warsaw in 1961, a critic described it as "a deeply moving piece of hopeless apocalyptic mood." Afterwards, we will perform Alexander Glazunov's passionate violin concerto, featuring Karen Gomyo as a soloist – a work that influential Russian art critic Vladimir Stassov described as being "born as a musical force in 1865." Its popular piece is distinguished by both its melancholic melody and its effective sound effects. To conclude, we will perform a symphony by Brahms, who wanted to continue what he considered to be Beethoven's classical legacy – but he viewed this path as "a matter of life and death." However, the conductor Hans von Bülow later described Brahms's first symphonic work, completed in 1876, as "Beethoven's Tenth." In his subsequent work, Brahms captured the atmosphere of a summer vacation a year later. However, the idyllic scene is sometimes deceptive, and he even called his second symphony "a new, delightful monster." Something clearly moved him: in a letter to his publisher Fritz Simrock, he wrote that he had never "written anything so sad and melancholic" – and to a friend, he said: "You have never heard anything so world-weary."
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