7. Sinfoniekonzert

In the organizer's words:

"Resignation and hope"

Grażyna Bacewicz
Overture for symphony orchestra

Richard Strauss (version by Oliver Gruhn)
Seven last songs (German premiere)

Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 6 in B minor op. 74 "Pathétique"

The seventh symphony concerto tells of invincible optimism in the darkest times, of peace with one's own transience and of heavy blows of fate. Not an easy program, but one that dares to trace the timelessly painful aspects of the 'human condition' - and promises a deep sense of catharsis in this confrontation.

The Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz studied with Nadia Boulanger and then worked as a concertmaster in Warsaw. She gave underground concerts in German-occupied Poland. Her Overture for symphony orchestra, composed in 1943, dates from this period. Despite the ostensible optimism, the war echoes again and again - for example in the martial marching drum or the booming brass fanfares. A key design element is the repeated appearance of the Morse code for the letter 'V', as in Victory. With its triumphant ending, the composition joyfully anticipates the liberation of Poland and the defeat of National Socialist Germany.

Richard Strauss' Four Last Songs based on words by Hermann Hesse and Joseph von Eichendorff are firmly established in the concert repertoire. They bear witness to a deep confrontation with death and an acceptance of one's own transience. However, the title and arrangement of the four songs can be traced back to a publisher, not the composer. He created three more songs in parallel before he died on September 8, 1949. The order in which they were composed, their keys and the textual context suggest that Richard Strauss originally intended a cycle of all seven songs. The German composer Oliver Gruhn has set himself the task of putting this into practice. To this end, he completed a fragment, orchestrated the three additional pieces and brought them together as the Seven Last Songs. This concert marks the German premiere of the cycle.

Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony is also the last completed work by the composer, who died nine days after the premiere. Like the fourth and fifth symphonies, the sixth also seems to revolve around a tragic fate. This time, however, Tchaikovsky resorts to a special trick: he swaps the triumphant finale with the lamenting slow movement. After fate has seemingly turned for the better, misfortune violently descends upon the individual with the greatest force, leaving nothing but the blackest darkness in its wake.