PERFORMERS
ORQUESTRA SIMFÒNICA DE BARCELONA I NACIONAL DE CATALUNYA
Pablo González, conductor
Benjamin Schmid, violin
WORKS
TCHAIKOVSKY: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
SCRIABIN: Poem of Ecstasy
R. STRAUSS: Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Three of the most spectacular works in the history of music: the amazing poem with which Scriabin wanted us to approach the limits of sensory perception, the forceful Zarathustra by Strauss which was so popularized by the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the famous Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by Tchaikovsky.
Philosophical works have been the inspiration for many composers; it is well known that Richard Strauss, whose 150th anniversary we commemorate this year, was passionate about philosophy. Various works of Nietzsche inspired him, but none resulted in such a shocking piece as Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Scriabin flirted with mysticism, numerology and synaesthesia: the result was this magnificent Poem of Ecstasy. The third appeal of the inaugural program is the presence of the Austrian virtuoso Benjamin Schmid, who is notable for projects in the fields of both classical music and jazz, and who visits us brandishing his Stradivarius.