NOSPR / Axelrod / Gershwin / Leonard Bernstein’s great discovery - NOSPR

There are fascinating masterpieces that are still waiting to be discovered. Even if they have become classics in their genre. Such has been the fate of compositions by Charles Ives, which are still virtually absent from Poland. This might not be so surprising when we remember that it had also been half a century or more before it was premiered in his native country. As we have just celebrated the American genius’ 150th birth anniversary, it is high time we changed this! Eventually, the NOSPR concert hall will resound with the Symphony No. 2, a piece that is not only masterful, but also gripping – and at the same time, one the most unusual works in the history of music. In the late 19th and early 20th century, the German Symphonic tradition still remained the basic form of expression, particularly for the Americans, educated with European models. The young composer from New England, however, enhanced it with themes drawn from the local tradition, the developments and unexpected clashes of which presented in the consecutive movements blew up the conventional style, leading everything up to the spectacular final explosion. All that a decade ahead of Stravinsky and Bartók! The world premiere of the Symphony No.2, which presented Ives’ symphonic oeuvre to the world, was only prepared in 1959 by Leonard Bernstein. Three decades later, John Axelrod, the conductor of today’s concert, studied the piece with him.

Axelrod also frequently works with the outstanding Turkish composer and pianist Fazıl Say. The very choice of solo instruments for his Concerto indicates an opportunity for showcasing the oriental exoticism and richness of the dynamic timbres of the percussion. The spectacular piece will be preceded by the famous Lullaby by George Gershwin.

Jakub Puchalski

Concert duration (intermission included): approximately 90 minutes