A SEXTET FROM THE TONKÜNSTLER ORCHESTER VIENNA WILL TAKE THE AUDIENCE ON A JOURNEY THROUGH ROMANTIC LITERATURE
The Auditorio de Tenerife welcomes this concert on Thursday with works by Richard Strauss, Spohr and Tchaikovsky.
On Thursday (12th) at 7:30 p.m., the Auditorio de Tenerife will host a concert entitled Románticos, featuring six musicians of the Tonkünstler Orchester of Vienna which will take the listener through Romantic literature, from the opera to the Tuscany. The programme will take place in the Chamber Hall including compositions by Richard Strauss, Louis Spohr and Tchaikovsky.
Richard Strauss (1864-1949) composed his final opera, Capriccio, based on a libretto by Stefan Zweig, a Jewish writer exiled from Austria- and premiered it during World War II in 1949 at the National Theatre in Munich. Clemens Krauss adapted the text. The opera's plot is based on the question: "First words, then music?" That theme is reflected through a string sextet that sets off a love triangle between three people: The young Flamand, the composer of the theme, and his rival Olivier, a poet, are enraptured by the Countess, to whom they profess their love.
However, the violinist, composer, conductor and festival organiser Louis Spohr (1784-1859) was less well known. The ensemble will perform his Sextet in C major for two violins, two violas and two cellos, op. 140. Spohr measured in prestige with Paganini himself. He was the most famous composer of his time after the death of Von Weber and Beethoven until Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Schumann became popular. After his debut as a soloist at the Gewandhaus Leipzig and his first concertmaster position in Gotha, Spohr moved to Vienna as concertmaster of the Theater an der Wien, where Beethoven's 5th and 6th symphonies, Mozart's The Magic Flute, or Strauss's Die Fledermaus were premiered. Spohr is a very representative figure in Central European Romanticism with a strong connection to Vienna.
Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) wrote his final piece of chamber music, Souvenir de Florence, in 1890 during a long stay in Florence, where he resided in the villas of his patron, Nadezhda von Meck. The work highlights a good period for the composer during which he found the tranquillity he needed to compose his opera The Queen of Spades. The piece was premiered in St. Petersburg in 1892 by the city's Chamber Music Society.
Musicians Maria Fomina, Aleksandra Martinoska, Nikita Gerkusov, Ludmila Kharitonova, Laura Szabo, and Ion Storozhenko are united by their membership in the Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich, an orchestra with its season at the prestigious Musikverein of Vienna and a resident orchestra at the Festspielhaus of St. Pölten and the Grafenegg Festival. Their bond is apparent in their music, and their personal affinity has developed over the years. Thanks to their talent, the Grafenegg Festival commissioned the musicians to perform this very programme for the 2024 festival.
Featuring three musicians of Russian origin—one Romanian, one Hungarian, and one Pole—the ensemble is a perfect reflection of the multiculturalism that has characterised Vienna for centuries. It unites different people and cultures through music—a union of a life dedicated to music whose guideline has been the musical pieces of great masters.
The six musicians studied at the most prestigious centres in Europe, such as the University of Vienna, the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, the St. Petersburg Conservatory and the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid. They have come to develop musical careers in different chamber ensembles at an international level.
The tickets can be purchased at a single price of €15 on the website www.auditoriodetenerife.com, at the auditorium's box office, or by dialling the phone number 902 317 327 from Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Check the special discounts for the audience under 30, students, unemployed, and large families.