Classical

3rd symphony concert

Tuesday, 16/01/2024 / 08:00 PM / Konzerthaus Freiburg (Concert hall)

Intermission catering Rain or shine Wheelchair-accessible

Julius Eastman: THE HOLY PRESENCE OF JOAN D'ARC Sergei Prokofiev: SINFONIA CONCERTANTE for violoncello and orchestra in E minor op. 125 Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 EROICA in E flat major op. 55 Beethoven's EROICA broke the boundaries of what his Viennese contemporaries understood by a symphony: It was longer, louder, more demanding than anything anyone had heard or played before. This symphony is no longer courtly entertainment, it is confession! The first movement alone, with its huge arches, is as long as an entire symphony by the model Joseph Haydn. Beethoven's third symphony, like Berlioz's FANTASTIQUE, is a real heroic story, but here it does not focus on a single man or woman, but on the human being as such: a youth is powerfully narrated, farewell and death are a theme, and above all, in the finale, the whole diversity of life, which breaks through in a grandiose collage of styles and musical languages. Collage is also a theme in the works of Julius Eastman, who questioned genres, role clichés and cultural values in an unprecedented way starting in the 1970s. His work also revolves around a heroine: Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans, is contextualized in his work in a radical way - everyday life and myth merge to create new meaning. Prokofiev's SINFONIA CONCERTANTE has only one hero: the solo cello. Contrary to its name, this work by the composer of ROMEO AND JULIA and PETER AND THE WOLF is a genuine instrumental concerto in which the cello is called upon from beginning to end. Seventy years after its premiere by the dedicatee, it is one of the most attractive and most frequently performed cello concertos of the 20th century.