NOSPR / Paweł Kapuła - NOSPR

The sounds of double bass exercises coming from the lesson room above the office of the director of the Music Conservatory in Bari, Nino Rota, must have stirred within him a feeling of irritation or sympathy. Wishing to render those exercises somewhat more pleasant – as the anecdote goes – he wrote a technically difficult, but impressive Divertimento concertante for double bass and orchestra. Even greater commitment was famously displayed by Carl Maria von Weber, who in 1811 wrote as many as three works for clarinet and orchestra. It was the success of the Concertino that determined the composing of two concertos, which were commissioned by King Maximilian of Bavaria, fascinated by the timbre of this instrument. Colours suggesting the images of our imagination are a particular asset of the orchestral suites from Maurice Ravel’s ballet based on a Greek tale of the triumph of love, Daphnis et Chloé. In this ‘grand fresco’, the composer does not stylise music, but attempts to faithfully portray the land of his dreams. It is a place worth visiting.

[Piotr Mika, translated by John Comber]

Duration of the concert: approx. 60 minutes