JOURNEY

April 9, 2021 at 7 pm — Estonia Concert Hall

3rd concert of the ROMANTICISM series

Attention! Programme has been changed!

Tõnu Kõrvits
“In the Shadows” for trumpet ~4′
“Azure” (Asuur) for string orchestra ~2′

Philip Glass
String Quartet No. 5 ~22′

Tõnu Kõrvits
“Leaving Capri” (Lahkudes Caprilt; Homage to Konrad Mägi) for string orchestra ~4′

Tõnu Kõrvits
4th mov. “Fly Away From Sorrow” (Lenda üles kurbtusest) from “Four Estonian sacred folk tunes” (Neli eesti vaimulikku rahvaviisi) for string quartet ~4′

“Wanderer’s Song” (Rändaja laul) for viola ~6′

“Good Night” (Head ööd) for string orchestra ~4′

“Touch” (Puudutus) for bassoon ~4′

2nd mov. “Bells” (Kellä`) and 3rd mov. “I Look Up to the Hill” (Ma vaatan üles mäele) from “Elegies of Thule” (Thule eleegiad) for string orchestra ~10′

MARTIN KUUSKMANN bassoon
INDREK VAU trumpet
LIINA ŽIGURS vioola
String Quartet: LINDA-ANETE VERTE violin, EGERT LEINSAAR violin, SANDRA KLIMAITĖ viola, THEODOR SINK cello
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra

The concert Journey focuses on the oeuvre of Tõnu Kõrvits, who is celebrating his birthday today. In the programme of the concert, his chamber works are interspersed with pieces for the string orchestra. We will also take a quick detour to the United States with Philip Glass’ String Quartet No. 5 from 1991.

“When musing about the orchestral music of Tõnu Kõrvits, the first thing that springs to mind is its songlike nature – the orchestra is primarily a melodic instrument for the composer. This may explain why his preferred medium is the string orchestra (“Azure”, “Leaving Capri”, “Elegies of Thule”). But also in his compositions for the symphony orchestra, it is the melody – whether hymnlike, passionately declamatory or ornamental – which is the soul of the piece.

Kõrvits is a marvellous expert on the orchestra and a master of instrumentation, able to tune into the character of each instrument and to translate this particularity into music. We can hear this in the many instrument solos in his works. His sound fantasies bring into being worlds with an extra special atmosphere, which may include references to Romanticism from Schubert to Mahler, impressionist reflections à la Debussy, Ravel and Scriabin, not to mention the rational vigour of Stravinsky. These combine organically into Kõrvits’ own unique orchestral style. The composer has said that, in addition to the string orchestra, he finds the orchestral matrix from Beethoven’s era to offer the most flexibility for him.” (Text by Kristel Pappel in the CD booklet “Hymns for Nordic Lights”)

As the government decided to cancel all indoor public events, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (ERSO) will perform in an empty hall this month: all concerts will take place and the audience will have the opportunity to enjoy the concert experience on ERSO TV and Klassikaraadio.

All tickets for performances can be exchanged for an ERSO TV access code, which is valid for two months, or an ERSO gift card, which is valid for 12 months and can be used to purchase a ticket for future concerts. Naturally, the tickets are also refundable.

MORE INFORMATION

The organizer reserves the right to make changes to the event program.