Russian music in Biel

This Sunday, the Jardins Musicaux festival orchestra, conducted by Valentin Reymond, will perform two outstanding works of Russian modernism in Biel's Pasquart Church. It will begin with Stravinsky's four-movement suite (Divertimento) from the ballet Le baiser de la féeto which he was inspired by Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen was inspired. In this work, the Russian revolutionary pays homage to Tchaikovsky, the master of classical ballet par excellence. Shostakovich's 1st Violin Concerto is also on the matinee program. Since the scandal surrounding his sarcastic 9th Symphony in 1945, Shostakovich had been blacklisted by the party and his music was on the index. He completed his monumental 1st Violin Concerto in 1948, but the score remained on his desk until Stalin's death. It was not until 1955 that the work could be performed by David Oistrakh, to whom it was dedicated, and the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Mravinsky. Two months later, Oistrakh led it to triumph with the New York Philharmonic. With its symphonic dimensions, the concerto draws on the entire imaginable technical, physical and emotional register. It is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful concertos of the 20th century.

Raffle of tickets
The Schweizer Musikzeitung is giving away some free tickets for this matinee. Please send an e-mail with the keyword "Russian music" and your name by Saturday, August 20, 12 noon at the latest to: contact@musikzeitung.ch. Please let us know if you need one or two tickets if you are one of the lucky winners. You will be notified by e-mail on Saturday afternoon.