Repertoire

Gunther Schuller: Symphony for Brass and Percussion (1950) 18′
Leonard Bernstein: Serenade for Violin and Orchestra (1954) 33′
John Adams: I Still Dance (2019) 8′
George Gershwin: An American in Paris (1928) 20’

ARTISTS

James Ehnes, violin
Ludovic Morlot, conductor
Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (OBC)

Programme

Entirely focused on American musical production, the concert opens with a work by Gunther Schuller, conceived in the 1950s: a Symphony for Brass and Percussion evocative of imposing landscapes. It is followed by a change in musical language with Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade for Violin, completed in 1954. Scored for string orchestra, harp and percussion —in addition to the ever-present solo violin, here played by James Ehnes— the piece was described by its creator as being close in spirit to Plato’s Symposium: “a series of declarations in praise of love”, with each movement evolving from elements of the previous one. The concert continues with a work by John Adams, one of the leading figures of contemporary minimalism. His piece “I Still Dance” displays dense orchestral writing rich in fluctuations, where repetition coexists with surprise. From a certain distance in time, yet marking a compositional milestone of the late 1920s shared by all of them, George Gershwin’s An American in Paris captures the urban atmosphere of the City of Light: its frenetic daytime bustle, the romantic aura surrounding evening strollers, and the jazzy hubbub of nighttime celebrations.

Within the framework of the institutional collaboration between L’Auditori and ESMUC, eight third and fourth year string students (three violins, two violas, two cellos and one double bass) are joining the OBC in this program as part of the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of ESMUC. Their participation will take place in the second part of the concert, in the works I Still Dance by John Adams and An American in Paris by George Gershwin, in an initiative that favors the link between academic training and professional practice that offers students a direct experience in the bosom of a first-level symphony orchestra.

In collaboration with:

This concert is included in the programme of the Festival Ciutat de Clàssica