Programme:

The compositions are inspired by the mythology and the beautiful nature of Northern Europe

Jean Sibelius, Edvard Hagerup Grieg, Bedřich Smetana, Richard Wagner, Arvo Pärt and more

Cast:

Vladimír Polák – presenter

Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava

Risto Joost – conductor

Whenever we hear Edvard Grieg’s music, we picture snow-capped mountains, the full moon, cold fjords and vast forests not yet touched by man. All these elements were included in his work in a poetic and gentle way. His two world-renowned orchestra suites Peer Gynt were composed of the original scenic music to Ibsen’s drama. His Finnish counterpart Jean Sibelius paid attention not only to nature but also to the Finnish national epic the Kalevala, which became the inspiration for his symphonic poems. Most of Richard Wagner’s works are inspired by Germanic myths. The most important ones are The Ring of the Nibelung, Tristan and Isolde, The Mastersingers of Nuremberg and Parsifal. Arvo Pärt, the contemporary Estonian composer has become the West’s favorite due to his ability to pinpoint what society desires: a slowdown, inner calmness and the silent beauty around us. His music technique was named tintinnabulation (Latin for bells). The author describes it as follows: “I learned the sound of one note is enough. I like this note, the quiet sound or the moment of it. I work with few elements and I build them from simple material, a triad in one key. Three tones of a chord sound just like bells, hence the name.”