2. Symphony Concert

“For me, music begins where words end,“ the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius once said in an interview. The fact that he did not need a literary source or poetic inspiration to write great music is illustrated by his First Symphony from 1898, which marked his international breakthrough and will be performed in this concert under the baton of Jonathan Nott. The Italian composer Ferruccio Busoni likely felt as well that music is capable of expressing more than words when he composed the , an elegiac lullaby, on the occasion of the death of his beloved mother. In this work, premiered by none other than Gustav Mahler, Busoni poignantly channeled the grief and pain he felt in the face of this profound loss. Between the two composers, Busoni and Sibelius, both born in the 1860s, the exceptional violinist Carolin Widmann – who has been honored as “Musician of the Year”, among other accolades – brings György Ligeti’s Violin Concerto to life – one of the most significant solo concertos of the modern era. This breathtaking work emerged from Ligeti’s constant search for a novel, iridescent sound, for which he also employed unusual instruments such as ocarinas and lotus flutes.