There are concerts programmes of which feature only a few, but magnificent works. This kind of a concert awaits the audience on March 14 at the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Concert Hall. The monumental programme Echoes of Greatness will feature the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO) conducted by maestro Victorien Vanoosten and violinist Mayumi Kanagawa.

The very title of the programme suggests that this time the Philharmonic stage will resound with particularly monumental works, which are rarely heard in concert halls due to their exceptionally complex scores. Presenting rarer works to the Lithuanian audience is the goal of the LNSO guest conductor Victorien Vanoosten, which the French maestro expressed as soon as he began working with this orchestra. “The biggest challenge is to justify all of your expectations. You know, when you start with a fairly high note, every time you come back you have to be even better than last time,” said in an interview Vanoosten, determined to expand the orchestra’s repertoire, refine the subtleties of musical interpretation, and convey it to the audience as sensitively as possible.

The concert Echoes of Greatness will open with the overture to the opera Le roi d’Ys (The King of Ys) by French romanticist composer Édouard Lalo. This opera, based on the legend of the sunken city of Ys in Brittany, is particularly popular with French audiences, but is much less well known to listeners in other countries than the composer’s other works.

Lalo’s overture will be followed by Samuel Barber’s Concerto for violin and orchestra. This work enchants with its melodiousness and exceptionally unique lyrical tone. Broad melodic lines merge here with a lively folk tradition. The two, constantly intertwining, create a special aura of reflective emotionality, making this Concerto a considerable musical challenge for the soloist.

Barber’s Violin concerto will be performed by guest artist Mayumi Kanagawa from Japan, who captivates audiences with her rich tone and original interpretations. Lithuanian music circle first heard about this violinist in 2013, when Kanagawa won the first prize at the J. Heifetz Competition in Vilnius. Her other notable achievements include the second prize and the prize for best concerto performance at the Long–Thibaud–Crespino Competition in Paris (2018), the first prize at the Princess Astrid Competition in Trondheim (2016), the first prize at the Irving M. Klein Competition in San Francisco (2011), and awards at the Stulberg and Corpus Christi international competitions. Having attracted the attention of international audiences, Kanagawa has been invited to perform with orchestras around the world, including various symphony and chamber orchestras in the US, Prague Radio SO, St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre SO, Finnish Radio SO, German Chamber Philharmonic in Bremen, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, and others.

The second half of the concert will feature Anton Bruckner’s monumental Symphony No. 7 in E major, a work that occupies a special place in the pantheon of 19th-century symphonic music. This symphony by Bruckner is dubbed a memorial to Richard Wagner: it was completed while Bruckner was visiting Bayreuth for the premiere of Wagner’s opera Parsifal. That was the last time the two great Romantics met.

Orchestral music concert Echoes of Greatness. LNSO, Mayumi Kanagawa, Victorien Vanoosten will take place on Saturday, March 14 at 19.00 in the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Concert Hall. For the full program of the LNPhS 85th season please visit www.nationalphilharmonic.lt  LNPhS 85th concert season is sponsored by NORFA.

LNPhS inf.