On Friday it features the Concerto for violin and orchestra by Elgar and the Symphony No. 5 by Beethoven.

 

This Friday (8), at 7:30 p.m., the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra is beginning a new season at the Auditorio de Tenerife. The programme includes the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by Edward Elgar -with the German violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann as soloist- and Symphony No. 5 by Beethoven. The American conductor Joseph Swensen will take charge of conducting the orchestra as the first subscription holder of the 2023-2024 series.

José Carlos Acha, minister of Culture of the Island Council of Tenerife, is excited about the new season of the Symphony Orchestra. “I believe that we have created an opening programme that will be well received by the audience and I am confident that this is the trend we will see throughout the performances we have this year.” Acha, who is also vice-president of the Island Council, recalled that it is still possible to obtain season subscriptions at affordable prices.

The orchestra is adding the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in B minor, Op. 61 by Edward Elgar to its repertoire. Premiered in 1910, the piece is a summation of the work of the British composer and his influences, which also presents the usual patina of melancholic romanticism that is so characteristic in his creations. With demanding sheet music for the soloist, as it is one of the longest and most difficult works from the violin repertoire, offering a score with the classic sonata form that depicts a series of intimate emotions.

This work will excel Frank Peter Zimmermann, who is now established as one of the world’s best violinists and who returns to the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra after 14 years. He began playing the violin at the age of just 5, studying with Valery Gradov, Saschko Gawriloff and Herman Krebbers. In 2010 he formed Trio Zimmermann, together with Antoine Tamestit at the viola and the cellist Christian Poltéra. With this group, he performs at the main music centres and festivals in Europe.

In the second part of the concert that opens the season, it will be possible to hear the most popular and widely-performed piece of classical music: Symphony No. 5 by Beethoven, a work that premiered in 1808 and dedicated to Prince Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz.  Despite being written at an advanced stage of his deafness, it conveys a high dose of energy from its opening bars. During the Second World War, it had a great political weight and was championed by the Allies as a flagship of their values.

After his debut with the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra last March, Joseph Swensen returns to once again lead the orchestra. He arrives shortly after being appointed musical director of the Orchestre National de Bordeaux Aquitaine for the 2024-25 season. He is also the chief guest conductor of the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra of Wrocław and the City of Granada Orchestra. Likewise, he is a conductor emeritus of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Swensen began his musical career as a solo violinist, playing with the world's main orchestras and conductors.  In terms of conducting work, he has served as the chief guest conductor and artistic advisor of the Orchestre Chambre Paris (2009-2012) and chief guest conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (2000-2003). Within the field of opera, he has also served as the musical director of the Opera of Malmö (2005-2011).

This season, Joseph Swensen will undertake different professional commitments, notably including the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra of Australia, the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestre National du Capitole of Toulouse.

The tickets for this first season concert can be purchased until the day of the concert on the website www.sinfonicadetenerife.es, at the auditorium's box office and by dialling the phone number 902 317 327 from Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.