Joshua Bell & Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra
One of the world’s finest chamber ensembles makes its debut at the Prague Spring together with American violinist Joshua Bell, who will perform Beethoven’s Violin Concerto on his Stradivarius.
Programme
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, overture KV 492
- Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major Op. 61
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Symfonie č. 41 C dur KV 551 "Jupiter"
Performers
- Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra
- Joshua Bell
#MeetBeethovenLive
The disposition of the creative spirit can sometimes seem inscrutable: After the Eroica I faced a long, seventeen-month struggle with the score of my only opera Fidelio, yet my Violin Concerto saw the light of day in December 1806 within the space of a single month. A crystalline piece. Soaring, full of feeling, much like my Fourth Symphony. The timpanist begins with a gentle “dum-dum-dum-dum”, announcing the entry of the oboes, clarinets and bassoons in the first movement… My friend Schuppanzigh complained to me about the difficulty of the violin part. But how could I possibly take into consideration his tiny little fiddle when I had been inspired by God Himself?
The delectable, elegant tone and ethereal technique of Franz Clement, whom I entrusted with the premiere of the work with its endearing dedication “Concerto par Clemenza pour Clement”, were wonderfully suited to the character of the piece. It is sad indeed how fate treated this violinist par excellence. I recall that, in 1811, he was accused of espionage in Russia and his imprisonment cost him all his Viennese estates. The Violin Concerto fell into oblivion for several decades, until it was performed by that prodigious twelve-year-old boy from Kittsee [Joseph Joachim]. By then, of course, I was looking down upon him from the musical firmament.
The return of Joshua Bell
Josef Suk, Igor Oistrakh, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Gil Shaham and Nigel Kennedy. This is just a brief list of the superb violinists who, over the eighty-year history of the Prague Spring, appeared at the festival with Violin Concerto in D major by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), a piece with countless exposed passages in vertiginous registers, which require crystal-clear intonation and extraordinary finger pressure. The star of the Prague Spring performance will be American violinist Joshua Bell, who launched his incredibly successful career at the age of fourteen when he performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Riccardo Muti. Let’s hope this Grammy Award holder doesn’t attempt the same stunt in Prague on his 1713 Stradivarius as violinist Franz Clement at the 1806 premiere: The latter inserted a composition of his own between the concerto movements, which he played with his violin held upside down!
Mozart’s last symphony
The last symphony by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), Jupiter from 1788, regularly features in the top ten in surveys to find “the best symphony of all time”. One 19th century Russian critic wrote of this work: “One must hear this music to believe it possible.” At the Prague Spring the piece will be performed by the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra – one of the finest chamber ensembles in the world, whose members include musicians from leading world orchestras, from the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Sir Simon Rattle described the Verbier orchestra in the following words: “What a wonderfully generous and flexible group. Because its musicians come from every corner of the globe and share a commitment to education, there is a remarkably open and positive atmosphere and a sense that they will try anything. Put simply, a huge pleasure!”. This will be the first appearance of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra at the Prague Spring.
What did Beethoven have in common with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?
- It is said that, when 17-year-old Beethoven first visited Vienna in 1787, he met Mozart and played several of his own compositions for him. Mozart was apparently enchanted and commented: “Mark that young man; he will make himself a name in the world!”
- Beethoven greatly admired Mozart. Most of his variations on works by other composers were based on compositions by Mozart (The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni etc.).
