THE VIOLIN OF GIL SHAHAM AND BEETHOVEN\’S SEVENTH

Repertoire

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72b
ALBAN BERG: Concert for violin
FERRAN SOR: Alphonse et Leonore ou l’amant peintre. Overture
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92

Artists

Constantin Trinks, conductor
Gil Shaham, violin

Program

Despite being almost completely deaf at that time, Beethoven conducted the premiere of his Symphony No 7, a work full of rhythm and optimism that eventually became one of his favourites. ‘To the memory of an angel’ is the evocative title of the concert for violin that Alban Berg premiered in Barcelona 80 years ago.Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 is a firm favourite with audiences thanks to its brilliance and rhythm. Wagner called it the ‘apotheosis of the dance’ and it is, undoubtedly, one of Beethoven’s most optimistic works. Louis Krasner commissioned a violin concert from Alban Berg with the idea of making twelve-note serialism accessible to the public and ridding it of its cerebral label. The result was one of the most important works of the 20th century, dedicated to the daughter of Alma Mahler, which had its premiere at the Palau de la Música in April 1936. We have the chance to hear it through the violin of Gil Shaham, an international figure whose visits never fail to impress. A piece by Ferran Sor, one of the few classical Catalan composers who found success around Europe, rounds off the performance.