Freitagskonzert № 1

In the organizer's words:

Rodolfo Halffter's "Tres Epitafios", premiered in 1954, open the concert evening with three finely crafted choral movements about Don Quixote, Sancho Panza and Dulcinea. The short "epitaphs" are musical obituaries - not sad, but ironically affectionate. Halffter portrays Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra's literary figures as memory images from a bygone age of the imagination. Richard Strauss also dedicated his tone poem "Don Quixote" to the "Knight of the Sorrowful Countenance" in 1897 - but in a large-scale orchestral format. In the performance, the solo parts are played by Henriette Lätsch, principal cellist, and Christian Götz, principal viola of the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra. Between the two works, Beethoven's Symphony No. 4 in B flat major from 1806 conveys a cheerful, transparent sound with a playful character. /JN

Program

Rodolfo Halffter Escriche:
"Tres Epitafios" ("Three Epitaphs") for mixed choir a cappella op. 17

Ludwig van Beethoven:
Symphony No. 4 in B flat major op. 60

Richard Strauss:
"Don Quixote, Fantastic Variations on a Theme of Knightly Character", tone poem for violoncello, viola and orchestra op. 35

Performers

Henriette Lätsch, violoncello
Christian Götz, viola
Jena Madrigal Circle
Berit Walther, conductor
Jena Philharmonic Orchestra
Simon Gaudenz, conductor