The Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of the distinguished French conductor Lionel Bringuier, will play Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No 2 in G minor (soloist: Alena Baeva) and Beethoven’s Symphony No 4.
Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No 2, written in 1935, is a more lyrical work than his 1917 Violin Concerto No 1 (which was played by the young Canadian violinist Kerson Leong at the AKM on January 5). Wikipedia tells us the following about the Violin Concerto No 2, which was premiered in Madrid:
The concerto is more conventional than the composer’s early bold compositions. It starts off with a simple violin melody related to traditional Russian folk music. The graceful violin melody flows throughout the entire second movement and ends with the initial violin theme reappearing in the orchestra’s sombre lower register, now accompanied by the solo violin. The third movement rondo’s theme has a taste of Spain, with the clacking of castanets each time the theme appears.
Beethoven’s four-movement Symphony No 4, meanwhile, was composed in 1806. Wikipedia offers the following analysis:
In general the symphony is sunny and cheerful, with light instrumentation that for some listeners recalls the symphonies of Joseph Haydn, with whom Beethoven had studied a decade before. The Fourth Symphony contrasts with Beethoven’s style in the previous Third Symphony (Eroica), and has sometimes been overshadowed by its massive predecessor and its fiery successor, the Fifth Symphony.
Issue 66, December 2023
Turkey’s Centenary Issue
