German Jörg Widmann, born in 1973, is one of his generation’s foremost composers, with a musical language that is boldly experimental, but at the same time sympathetic publiktillvänt. He has dedicated his second violin concerto to his sister, the violinist Carolin Widmann. She was soloist in the world premiere of last year and has followed the work now, when it is performed for the first time in Sweden.
the violin concerto begins with the soloist hitting with the bow on the violinkroppen in different ways, like a space alien who descended to the earth, and curiously investigating what objects and what it is to be used. The soloist stands for naivety, the orchestra of machinery, they are speaking two different languages and it becomes a tug of war between the two extremes.
In the first batch trying the soloist time and time again to kick-start the reluctant orchestra, in the second movement she plays beautiful folkmusikliknande melodifragment while the newly awakened orkesterbesten’t really want to take an interest in what she has to say. In finalsatsen approaching, they finally each other – and the soloist is now playing energetically, but no longer romantic, the orchestra listens and responds, and everything gets a suitable osentimental conclusion. A special and lovely violin concerto without a single dull second.
music will be easier to appreciate thanks to the neighbors in the concert program: Sibelius, two great find ”Often recorded” and ”Finlandia” from the turn of the last century and Benjamin Britten’s symphonic song cycle ”Nocturne”. Finnegan Downie Dear directs the Swedish radio symphony orchestra in the ”Often recorded” and get this on the verge of breaking’m piece to feel fresh again – the delicate, fragile, and quiet, sad moment, it frejdigt distinctive toned down. Daniel Harding, who directs the concert’s other works, has something completely different in mind with ”Finlandia” as this burns of struggle, determination and heady triumfdrömmar.
Britten’s ”Nocturne” from 1958 is flooded with the love of both to her poetry and to the orchestra’s endless possibilities. With night, sleep and dream as the theme did Britten both the romantic heavyweights as 1900-century Wilfred Owen (which he would return to in the ”War requiem”) and influential verse of Thomas Middleton. The variety of the songs hooks seamlessly into each other, and each song is accompanied by a specific instrument in addition to strings – until the final coming, a sonnet of Shakespeare, when all the instruments are activated, all of the shades, shine. An exquisite meeting between the text and the music, and Andrew Staples’s bright voice is extremely beautiful. A perfect concert night!
