Exile, displacement, survival, a desire for peace – the works presented in this concert were written before, during and after the Second World War and form a triad that reads as a declaration of musical and political intent. Kurt Weill began work on his second symphony during Hitler’s takeover of power; Béla Bartók received the commission to write his Concerto for Orchestra after having fled to the USA and it secured him a new livelihood; and 1942/43 Arnold Schönberg composed his «Ode to Napoleon» as an artistic attack on tyranny and an affirmation of democracy.
Instrumentation
- Grafenegg Academy Orchestra
- Thomas Hampson, speaker
- Dennis Russell Davies, conductor
Programme
Kurt Weill:
Symphony No. 2
Arnold Schönberg:
«Ode to Napolen Bonaparte» Melodrama for Speaker, Piano and String Orchestra op. 41
Béla Bartók:
Concerto for Orchestra
Introduction/abstract
GRAFENEGG ACADEMY ORCHESTRA
THOMAS HAMPSON
DENNIS RUSSELL DAVIES
Weill, Schönberg, Bartók
Supporting programme
-
Introductory talk Grafenegg Reitschule -
MATINEE | «In the Wake of Catastrophe: The Politics of Modernism 1918-1945» Grafenegg Auditorium -
Round-Table Grafenegg Reitschule