Eiji Oue conducts a programme that includes works by Martinú and Rachmaninoff, with the viola player Maxim Rysanov as the invited soloist

 

The Sinfónica de Tenerife (Tenerife Symphony Orchestra) is a project of the Island Council’s Department of Culture which is directed by Enrique Arriaga. On Thursday [16] at 7:30 p.m., it offers a musical journey through the late Romanticism. Under the direction of the Japanese Eiji Oue, it will play the ‘’Rhapsody-Concerto for viola and orchestra’by Bohuslav Martinú, and the ‘Symphony No. 2 in E minor’ by Serguei Rachmaninoff. The Ukranian viola player Maxim Rysanov is the invited soloist during the first work.

This seventh programme invites us to take a melodic journey through the Russian Romanticism of Serguéi Rachmaninoff (Oneg / Semyonovo, 1873 – Beverly Hills, 1943) and of the Czech Bohuslav Martinú (Polička, 1890 – Liestal, 1959). Both composers developed the core of their work during the turbulent first half of the 20th-century. Lyricism prevails in their work delivered during a time when music rapidly evolved in a very different and varied manner.

‘Rhapsody-Concerto for viola and orchestra’ by Martinú was premièred in 1953 and commissioned by Martinù's friend and violin player Jascha Veissi. During his career, he played for two great American orchestras such as Cleveland and San Francisco. The work is divided into two movements. The initial 'Moderato' alternates rhythmic moments with relaxed, melodic and sometimes singsongy passages. Hence, the work is titled "Rhapsody" (song). The second movement 'Molto Adagio' evolves into an 'Allegro'; it alternates slow and fast sections of orchestra and of soloist, to finally lead us to a nostalgic and solemn atmosphere.

Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2 is one of the most emblematic and renowned works among classical music fans. After his deep depression brought on by the failure of his Symphony No. 1, he composed it between 1906 and 1907 while he was the director of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Premièred successfully the following year, it meant a self-esteem booster, a personal and musical turning point for the composer. The symphony is a dramatic sequence in the purest Russian tradition. Divided into four movements, the third one is the most remarkable one.

Eiji Oue was born in Hiroshima, Japan, and is renowned for his ‘extraordinary interpretations’ (‘La Nación’, Argentinian newspaper). Oue began piano lessons at the age of four. He then entered the Toho Gakuen School of Music as a performance major where he began his conducting studies with Seiji Ozawa’s teacher Hideo Saito. He was invited by Ozawa to study at the Tanglewood Music Center, where he met the American composer Leonard Bernstein.

Oue has conducted many of the world’s top orchestras throughout his career, including the New York Philharmonic, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, and the Munich Philharmonic, among others. He is currently Conductor Laureate of both the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, having served as its Music Director from 2003-2011, and the NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra in Hanover, following an eleven-year tenure as Principal Guest Conductor (1998-2009). He has also held the positions of Music Director of the Minnesota Orchestra (1995-2002) and Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (2006-2010).

The Ukrainian-British viola player Maxim Rysanov has established himself as one of the world’s most charismatic musicians of his generation. He regularly collaborates with renowned musicians such as the violinist Maxim Vengerov, Viktóriya Mulova and Janine Jansen; or with the cellist Sol Gabetta and Mischa Maisky. Rysanov is a recipient of various awards, including Gramophone’s “Young Artist of the Year Award” (2008) and the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Award (2007-2009). Likewise, his recordings have gained numerous awards including Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice, ECHO, ICMA and nominations for the Grammy and Gramophone Awards. In addition, he reached number one in the iTunes charts in the USA.

Tickets can be purchased until one hour before the show on the website www.sinfonicadetenerife.es, at the box office and by dialling 902 317 327 from Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m The audience is requested to arrive at the venue well in advance to enter the Auditorium in  "waves”. By purchasing tickets, you accept the measures implemented by the cultural centre to combat Coronavirus. All of the measures, as well as the contingency plan certified by AENOR, can be consulted on the Auditorium’s website.

The audience is requested to arrive at the venue well in advance to enter the Auditorium in staggered “waves". By purchasing tickets, you accept the measures implemented by the cultural centre to combat Coronavirus. All of the measures, as well as the contingency plan certified by AENOR, can be consulted on the Auditorium’s website.