Three gems by Mendelssohn, and one by Bach, in L'Auditori
The Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya will accompany the violinist Fumiaki Miura, under the direction of Pinchas Zukerman.
For three consecutive days, the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya (OBC) will play, in L'Auditori, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Violin Concerto and Italian Symphony by Felix Mendelssohn, as well as the Double Violin Concerto (BWV 1043) by Johann Sebastian Bach, under Pinchas Zukerman's baton.
The imprint of the classical tradition — and especially of Bach — is present in all of Mendelssohn's music, the most classical of all the Romantics. The works included in the repertoire of L'Auditori are three gems of his orchestral production, full of a lively, refined and powerful expression and a refulgent clarity.
A Midsummer Night takes its name from a William Shakespeare play and is Mendelssohn's most well-known work. It is considered a piece full of contributions from incidental music and consists of 12 numbers, including the famous Wedding March and an exciting opening that the composer wrote when he was 16 years old before completing his work in 1842. The composition recreates the dreamlike world of Athenian forests full of fairies and mythological beings. It references a metaphorical journey to discover real love, of right and wrong, which invites the viewer to turn the page and start new stages.
As for Bach, Mendelssohn brought him back from the relative oblivion he had fallen for nearly 80 years in the 1830s. In fact, among Mendelssohn's youthful achievements is the stellar moment in the history of music, the revival of the St Matthew Passion in February 1829. The Baroque master's Double Violin Concerto will be performed by the soloists Fumiaki Miura (Tokyo, 1993) and Pinchas Zukerman (Tel Aviv, 1948).
Both were taught by their parents from a young age. The Japanese Miura started playing at the age of three and later trained in Tokyo and Vienna. In 2018, he made his debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Zukerman. And together, the following year, they performed the already mentioned Concerto for two violins at the Miyazaki International Chamber Music Festival.
Zukerman, who will also perform as the conductor, started out with his father, who until the Second World War was a violinist in the Lodz Philharmonic Orchestra in Poland. At the age of 14, he travelled to the United States with the help of Pau Casals to study conducting, and it was there where he developed most of his career.
Tickets go from 25 to 55 euros and can be bought online through this link.