5. Sinfoniekonzert

In the organizer's words:

"Classical Baroque"

Jean-Philippe Rameau
Overture to Zaïs

Johann Sebastian Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major BWV 1050
Piano Concerto No. 5 in F minor BWV 1056

Emilie Mayer
Overture No. 2 in D major

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor KV 466

With his expertise in baroque and classical music, Hagen's Artist in Residence David Fray is completely in his element in this concert, not only playing the keys but also conducting the orchestra from the piano! The evening opens with Jean-Philippe Rameau's overture to the Pastorale héroïque Zaïs, starting at the very beginning - after all, the French composer set to music nothing less than the emergence of the four elements from the chaos at the beginning of creation.

Johann Sebastian Bach follows this in a double pack. First up is the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto with its prominent piano part, which is generally regarded as the first piano concerto in music history. The violin and flute also appear as soloists - opposite them is the string orchestra in tutti. This is followed by Bach's Fifth Piano Concerto in F minor. It is remarkable how this early work in the genre already plays with conventions, as the usual separation between tutti and solo passages in the outer movements seems to have been abolished. The middle movement is, of course, a solo passage with a light orchestral accompaniment, so that the piano is the focus of the work.

Emilie Mayer was one year older than Richard Wagner and died a few weeks after him. However, her works are primarily in the tradition of Viennese Classicism. The Overture No. 2 by the Berliner-by-choice, which premiered in 1850, ends the concert break with two dramatic chords and is characterized by alternating dramatic and lyrical passages.

The concert concludes with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Concerto K. 466, in which David Fray appears as a soloist for the third time this evening. Mozart's most popular work in this genre - Beethoven and Brahms also performed it as soloists - is one of his few pieces in a minor key, and the dramatic tonal language is reminiscent of Don Giovanni or the Queen of the Night's entrance aria in The Magic Flute. In contrast, there are always quiet and lyrical moments. As with Emilie Mayer, it is the contrast that makes the work so appealing. At the same time, Mozart's mastery is evident in the further development of the concerto from the Baroque juxtaposition of tutti and solo to the musical dialog between soloist and orchestra.