Sinfonietta
8th Philharmonic Concert / Dmitri Shostakovich / Mino Marani: Prelude and Fugue op. 87 no. 24 / Leoš Janáček: Sinfonietta op. 60 / Sergei Rachmaninoff: Symphony no. 1 in D Minor op. 13
Heidelberg Congress Center
In 1950/1951, inspired by the 200th anniversary of Bach’s death, Dmitri Shostakovich composes 24 preludes and fugues. He was allowed to perform only parts of his work to a selected audience. Only when pianist Tatiana Nikolayeva actively supported his work to be »signed off« by the party, it was recognised. Mino Marani orchestrated prelude and fugue no. 24.
Leoš Janáček’s sinfonietta exudes optimism. It is a work also intended as a tribute to the Moravian capital of Brno. Janáček’s love for Kamila Stösslová, the long awaited recognition for his work as well as the fact that Czechoslovakia had become an independent state filled the composer, then aged 71, with optimism.
In 1895, Sergei Rachmaninoff started his first symphony set to become the last work of the great Russian romantic’s early period.
