18.01.2019
Concert in the Philharmonic Chamber Hall
On 17 February the Mikhailovsky Theatre Chamber Orchestra will perform in the Philharmonic Chamber Hall. The audience can look forward to a real journey through the ages, with a programme including works by composers from various periods: Arcangelo Corelli, Antonio Vivaldi, Henry Purcell, Benjamin Britten, and our contemporary Metropolitan Ilarion (Alfeev).
The evening will begin with the Concerto Grosso No.8 by Arcangelo Corelli, the composer who is considered the founder of the Italian violin school. The work was commissioned by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni and is known throughout the world as the Christmas Concerto. The motif at its heart is taken from a Christmas chorale, and features in every movement of the concerto, but with various modifications: changes in tempo, rhythm, and the progression of the melody. Underneath the title, the score bears the inscription „Fatto per la notte di natale“, which when translated from the Italian means „Written for Christmas Eve“.
The baroque theme continues with violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi, who has gone down in history as the creator of the instrumental concerto as a genre. More than 500 of his concertos have survived, 230 of them for the violin. Three concertos for two violins have been chosen from this musical cornucopia and are included in the programme.
„The chamber orchestra is still very young, but we have our own repertoire and our own audience,“ says Alexey Lukirsky, the leader of the orchestra. „This season we are starting to branch out to new venues, and performing in the Philharmonic Chamber Hall is a great step for us.“
The evening will begin with the Concerto Grosso No.8 by Arcangelo Corelli, the composer who is considered the founder of the Italian violin school. The work was commissioned by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni and is known throughout the world as the Christmas Concerto. The motif at its heart is taken from a Christmas chorale, and features in every movement of the concerto, but with various modifications: changes in tempo, rhythm, and the progression of the melody. Underneath the title, the score bears the inscription „Fatto per la notte di natale“, which when translated from the Italian means „Written for Christmas Eve“.
The baroque theme continues with violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi, who has gone down in history as the creator of the instrumental concerto as a genre. More than 500 of his concertos have survived, 230 of them for the violin. Three concertos for two violins have been chosen from this musical cornucopia and are included in the programme.
Henry Purcell’s Chacony will be heard in the arrangement by Benjamin Britten — a kind of metaphorical bridge between two centuries. Britten, the legendary twentieth-century English composer, took the best of centuries past for his works. His Simple Symphony betrays his love for Mozart’s music and his respect for classical traditions. The twenty-first century will be represented by the Concerto Grosso by Metropolitan Ilarion (Alfeev), who also turns to ages past in his compositions and finds inspiration in the intricate forms of baroque music.
