CONCERT PROGRAMME
C. Saint-Saëns. Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso for violin and orchestra in A minor, Op. 28
E. Chausson. “Poème“ for violin and orchestra, op. 25
C. Saint-Saëns. Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78 (“The Organ Symphony”)
The Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra (artistic director and chief conductor Gintaras Rinkevičius) invites the audience to an evening of French romantic music, during which Ugnė Liepa Žuklytė, one of the brightest young Lithuanian violinists, currently studying at the Royal College of Music in London, will play together with the symphony orchestra.
Together with the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, the talented violinist shall perform the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso for violin and orchestra by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) and the composition “Poème” by Ernest Chausson (1855–1899). “Poème” is a key piece in the repertoire of violinists, one of the most famous and the composer's most beloved works, written on the commission of the Belgian violin virtuoso Eugène Ysaÿe. At first, the composer called this work "a devilishly difficult task", but at the end the creative process, inspired by the dramatic love triangle, the piece was completed in 1897. It was presented to the Parisian audience and brought the composer unprecedented recognition, just two years before his death.
The second part of the concert will feature Camille Saint-Saëns' (1835–1921) Symphony No. 3, which he completed in 1886, at the height of his artistic career. With this symphony, the composer seems to have written the story of his own creative path: virtuosic piano passages, brilliant orchestration from the Romantic period and organ sounds suitable for cathedrals and large concert halls. "I gave everything I could give. What I have achieved in this symphony, I will never achieve again", – C. Saint-Saëns later wrote. Although the composer was asked to tackle another symphony after the symphony's great success in France, he never returned to the genre.
Tonight, the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by the Head of the Conducting Department of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, prof. Dainius Pavilionis.