International Lutosławski Youth Orchestra | Final concert

International Lutosławski Youth Orchestra – the flagship project of the Szczecin Philharmonic and the only international youth orchestra in Poland. This year, as many as 252 young instrumentalists from thirty countries on four continents participated in auditions for the orchestra, among them this year's edition line-up was selected. These extremely talented, ambitious young musicians will perform for the Szczecin audience works by Penderecki, Bernstein, Lutosławski and Dvořák to the Szczecin audience.

If the world of classical music ever had a "renaissance man", it was certainly Leonard Bernstein. Composer, pianist, conductor and music popularizer. As a composer, he found his place in both the world of classical and popular music. He was a giant of conducting, loved by audiences and admired by classical musicians. The concert will begin with probably the most frequently performed Bernstein’s work – the famous Overture to Candide. It was composed for the operetta of the same title, which premiered in 1955. The operetta was based on Voltaire's novella from 1758, which was a satire on superstitions and fashionable philosophical views of his time, especially the Inquisition of the Catholic Church. Although Candide was a moderate success, the overture to it became a permanent part of the regular repertoire of most symphony orchestras around the world. It is a tribute to a life full of passion, emotion, enthusiasm and spontaneity. And its performance requires extraordinary speed and precision from the musicians.

Overture Candide by Bernstein performed by Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Leonard Slatkin:

The next piece in tonight’s program is the Partita by Witold Lutosławski – the patron of ILYO, with Monika Sawczuk as soloist. Originally, Witold Lutosławski wrote the Partita as a piece for violin and piano, which he dedicated in 1984 to Pinchas Zukerman and Marc Neikrug. However, three years later, specially for Anne Sophie Mutter, the composer created an orchestral version of the work, premiered on January 10, 1990 in Munich with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the composer himself. The Partita is typical of Lutosławski's late style, its austerity and aggressive strokes intertwined with impressionistic lyrical fragments and sometimes downright bluesy passages. As the composer himself wrote: The piece consists of five parts. Of these, the main movements are the first (Allegro giusto), the third (Largo) and the fifth (Presto). The second and fourth are just short interludes that can be played ad libitum. A short ad libitum fragment also appears before the end of the last movement. The three main movements refer, at least rhythmically, to the tradition of pre-classical (18th century) keyboard music. However, this is nothing more than an allusion. Harmonically and melodically, the Partita undoubtedly belongs to the same group of my contemporary compositions as the Symphony no. 3 and Chain no. 1.

The first part of the concert will end with the Serenade 1996-1997 for string orchestra by Krzysztof Penderecki – the most important Polish composer of the late 20th century and one of the most inspiring and influential musicians who appeared in Eastern Europe after World War II. His work is usually divided into two characteristic periods: the avant-garde and the turn towards the late Romantic tradition (from the mid-1970s). The Serende therefore comes from the second period of Penderecki’s compositional path. However, it differs significantly from the calm, soft and lyrical character of typical serenades. It begins with a rather short, though gloomy Passacaglia, followed by Larghetto, which, despite a slightly more romantic mood, still has some dark aspects. In response to critical comments about the work regarding the means of expression he used, Penderecki made the famous remark: It does not matter to me how it is defined. Whether as music immersed in tradition or avant-garde. For me it is simply authentic. And that's enough. It's hard to find a more eloquent criticism of reviewers who are often more focused on pigeonholing the music than on the music itself.

The year 2024 has been announced as the Year of Czech Music. The International Lutosławski Youth Orchestra, joining in the common celebration of the musical heritage of our southern neighbors, will perform the most famous symphony ever written by a Czech master. For the first time in its history and 120 years after the death of Antonín Dvořák (1841-1094), ILYO will perform his Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, From the New World. It is the work of a mature composer. The enthusiasm that accompanied its premiere at Carnegie Hall in New York in 1893 meant that its fame quickly eclipsed all of the composer's previous symphonic achievements. Here we hear Dvořák in full control of his ideas and musical means of expression. The piece was written in 1892-93, during the composer's three-year stay in America, where he served as director of the National Music Conservatory in New York. Striving to create a symphonic foundation for "American" music, its national idiom, he adapted ideas from a new world that he absorbed with all his senses. The musical inspirations of Native Americans and African Americans combine here with his own European and Czech sensibilities, resulting in a symphony full of thrilling energy and melodic invention. This is undoubtedly one of the greatest classical music hits of all time. It was also the first symphony to ever leave the earth. It was taken to the Moon by Neil Armstrong during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. From the New World to the New World – after all, the title obliges.

Fragment of the Symphony no.9 by Dvořák performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under the batton of Gustavo Dudamel:

PERFORMERS

International Lutosławski Youth Orchestra – has achieved many successes in its over ten-year history. ILYO musicians played, among others: in the famous hall of the Berlin Konzerthaus and in the main hall of the National Forum of Music in Wrocław, and their concert was broadcast on German radio. This year, young musicians will be led for the first time by maestro Przemyslaw Neumann (conductor) – who has collaborated with such renowned orchestras as the Philharmonic National, Poznań Philharmonic and Sinfonia Iuventus.

The soloist in Lutosławski's piece will be Monika Sawczuk (violin) – winner of the 1st prize at the international competition Jugendkunstpreis Erkner (Germany) in 2017 and leader of the ExQuartet quartet.