Weber. Dvořák. Wagner

The young American violinist Kevin Zhu, most recently heard at the Dresdner Musikfestspiele with Paganini’s 24 Caprices, »scaling the Mount Everest of violin literature« (thus the publication »Musik in Dresden«), returns this season with Dvořák’s only Violin Concerto, a gem heard far too rarely. Stylistically, it forms part of the so-called Slavic period, in which the Czech composer dedicated himself with particular intensity to the folklore of his homeland.

Which orchestra, then, could be more predestined to interpreting this concerto – which is very symphonic by nature – with the soloist than the Prague Philharmonia, widely acclaimed for its clear and brilliant sound? Students of the Prague Conservatory also gave the very first performance of Richard Wagner’s only completed symphony in 1832.

This magical evening, under the baton of the French conductor Emmanuel Villaume and under the cupola of the Frauenkirche, opens with von Weber’s overture to »Der Freischütz«, a condensed tone poem about the opera’s main themes: love, death, desperation and black magic.

Photo: Bruno Murialdo