On Friday January 29th, a unique and powerful performance by the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra will be broadcast across Europe. Paľa Plays Schnittke features the world premiere of an orchestral work by Armenian composer Tigran Mansurian and a solo performance by violinist Milan Paľa, concluding with a classical piece. Photo: A. Liebreich and T. Mansurjan at the performance of Requiem. Credit: Courtesy of Brno Philharmonic.
Brno, Jan 29 (BD) – This evening, a performance by the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra will be broadcast live on Czech Radio Vltava and European stations within the EBU series. Paľa Plays Schnittke features three extraordinary pieces for listeners between 7pm and 9pm. The concert will be conducted by Alexander Liebreich.
The performance will open with the world premiere of Agnus Dei, an orchestral version of Requiem by Armenian composer Tigran Mansurian. Requiem premiered in the Czech Republic last year, and the powerful performance stood out as a significant highlight of the last season.
“After both evenings, the piece received an absolutely extraordinary response from both audience and critics, so Mansurian decided, at the request of Brno Filharmonie, to create an orchestral version of his quartet Agnus Dei, which he composed in 2006 as a quartet for piano, clarinet, violin and cello. In its orchestral form, the work will have its world premiere,” said Marie Kučerová, director of the orchestra.
The second piece is an interpretation of Alfred Schnittke’s Violin Concerto No. 3 by violin soloist Milan Paľa, who surprised audiences with his performance last season. At last minute notice, Paľa stepped in to substitute for a sick soloist, and within hours he staged Antonín Vranický’s virtuoso Violin Concerto in C major, receiving standing ovations on all three evenings.
Photo: Milan Paľa plays Violin Concerto in C major. Credit: Courtesy of Brno Philharmonic.
“After the time spent preparing this work, the power of execution forced me to experience a strong internal shock, without which it is not possible to grasp the soul of the work. I think it is necessary to reveal the psychological rupture of the concert, its fragility and especially the sadness evident in every moment,” explained Paľa. In light of his unprecedented performance, the Brno Philharmonic invited Paľa to play in the next season.
The evening will conclude with Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s Symphony No. 5 in D major “Reformation”. The piece was composed as a celebration of the third anniversary of Luther’s proclamation of the Evangelical Confession in Augsburg, as the composer was a devout Lutheran.
“The previous two works are very well complemented by this symphony. Not only musically, but also with its spiritual dimension,” said Vítězslav Mikeš, dramaturge of the Brno Philharmonic. Mansurian’s piece and Schnittke’s composition are dedicated to the legendary Russian violinist Oleg Kagan.
