BRAHMS & SYMPHONY OPPENHEIMER

  Košice Music Spring 05.06.2025 House of Arts 19:00

State Philharmonic Orchestra Košice
Kirill KARABITS , conductor
Alexandra CONUNOVA , violin
Andreas BRANTELID, cello

Programme:

Ivan Karabits: Vio serenade for strings 7'
Johannes Brahms: Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra in A minor, Op. 102 36'
John Adams: Doctor Atomic Symphony 25'
John Adams: Short Ride in a Fast Machine. 5'

In addition to its remarkable orchestral color and perceptual openness, the music of Ukrainian composer Ivan Karabits embodies interesting reflections on new Ukrainian music. It draws on traditional roots, albeit against the backdrop of a contemporary Western European context. His work includes symphonies, piano concertos, concertos for orchestra, and works for string orchestra such as the Serenade "Vio" from 2000.

Brahms's Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra in A minor from 1887 follows the type of concertante symphony, such as Mozart's Sinfonie concertante or Beethoven's Concerto for Piano, Violin and Cello . It is the last composition that represents Brahms's later, mature symphonic style, as he devoted his last decades of work primarily to chamber music, piano pieces and vocal lyricism. The work is characterized by a considerable moderation of expression and a deliberate suppression of sonic grandeur.

Doctor Atomic Symphony is a condensed instrumental version of the 2007 opera Doctor Atomic by American composer John Adams. It tells the story of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer as he and his team frantically worked to develop the first atomic bomb. The symphony, which runs in three movements without interruption, is dominated by the sound of brass instruments. These perhaps foreshadow the horrors of atomic war, which is imminently threatening the world.

Adams' orchestral work Short Ride in a Fast Machine dates from 1986. Adams also calls it Fanfare for Orchestra . The piece is a kind of musical commentary on the experience of a fast, short, and dangerous ride in a sports car, which the author took as a frightened passenger. The work is an example of Adams' colorful post-minimalist style.