Programme:

Mikhail Glinka
Ruslan and Lyudmila, overture to the opera

Sergei Prokofiev
Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 3 in C major, Op. 26

Antonín Dvořák
Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70

Cast:

Lukáš Vondráček – piano
Leoš Svárovský – conductor

Prokofiev was composing his Piano concerto No. 3 between 1917 and 1921, premiering on December 16, 1921, in Chicago with the author as the soloist. The composition is more accessible compared to the previous piano concert and the author considered it one of his best compositions; he played it often, and the concert remains popular even to this day. Similarly to Rachmaninov, Prokofiev was a piano virtuoso himself and as a result, his compositions are extremely effective and perfect for this instrument.

Glinka wrote his second opera Ruslan and Lyudmila after he learned about Italian opera, which he experienced in 1830 after traveling for three years to Italy. Further inspiration by European music comes from Berlin, where he studied in 1833. His previous opera A life for the Tsar is based on Russian folk songs but he also used mediums characteristic for the current development of the European music.

Dvořák’s seventh symphony is uncharacteristically grim even for the author himself. Although it cannot be compared with the popularity of From the New World symphony, from the overall concept, the severity of testimony and the excellence, it is a symphonic masterpiece as well as one of the most important works after Beethoven.