Beethoven & Lutosławski

From Hickox’s Treasure Chest

Conductor: Adam Hickox
Piano: Paul Lewis

Program
Unsuk Chin: Subito con forza
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3
Witold Lutosławski: Concerto for Orchestra

About the concert
This evening, Adam Hickox has chosen works that really complement each other well in a colorful concert full of energy and fantastic music!

In Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3, the contours of the mature Beethoven are visible and it is almost as if the first movement is looking back towards Mozart, while the second movement looks forward, embraces the ideals of Romanticism and never looks back. The evening’s soloist, Paul Lewis, is considered one of our very best Beethoven interpreters, and critics in all corners of the world are raving about his concerts, so here’s to enjoying!

In 1950, Lutosławski was commissioned to compose an orchestral work to celebrate the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra finally getting back on its feet after the Second World War. His source material had always been Polish folk music, and now he took full advantage of it. Concerto for Orchestra is permeated with folk melodies, and these are stretched and stretched and thematized and embroidered in innovative ways in a work in which the orchestra and its instrumental groups really get to play the main role as soloists.

The concert opens with Unsuk Chin's subito con forza from 2020, which was written for the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth. The piece is full of musical references to his music and a fireworks display of a celebration!