Richard Wagner
Prelude and Isolde’s love death from the opera Tristan and Isolde WWV90

Robert Schumann
Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129

Bohuslav Martinů
Symphony No. 6, “Fantaisies symphoniques”, H. 343

Bruno Philippe – violoncello
Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava
Christian Arming – conductor

Salvation through sensuality. That is how the story of Tristan and Isolda ends according to Richard Wagner. Mesmerized by the beauty of his patron’s wife Mathilde Wesendonck, he put his opera tetralogy, The Ring of the Nibelung, on hold and devoted his time to the story of unconditional love. Friedrich Nietzsche defined Tristan and Isolda as “dangerously fascinating, dreadfully and sweetly infinite”.

Schumann, a pianist, and a violoncello? Yes. And yet he remains the Schumann we know – lyrical, melancholic and singable. He composed the concerto in just two weeks and he initially called it Konzertstück (concert piece), because he connected all three movements without a pause. In the three movements, he develops consistent subjects but does so inventively, the audience is taken through meditative as well as cheerfully energetic passages.

“I wished to compose a piece for Charles Munch (he was a conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the time). He has such a strong effect on me, and I like his spontaneous approach to music. Thus I thought of composing a symphony for him, which I wanted to name fantastic,” wrote B. Martinů. The New York critics chose his Symphony No. 6 as the best orchestral piece of the year 1955.

The orchestra will be led by Christian Arming, who became a chief conductor of JPO in 1996 when he was only 25 years old and served in this position until 2002.