Osterkonzert

Simple melodies and harmonies often have a way of imprinting themselves on the memory. The early Baroque «Follia» motif is even said to have a cathartic effect. In 1802, at the request of Empress Marie Thérèse, Joseph Eybler transformed a series of variations on just such a soul-purifying «Follia» theme – for solo violin by Arcangelo Corelli – into «La Follia di Spagna» for large orchestra. Performed here, to the best of our knowledge, for the first time, the «Pastorale» for strings and two horns by Joseph Haydn allegorically reflects the idea of resurrection – after all, the work laid forgotten in a library vault for time out of mind. One more discovery in this Easter Concert: Franz Xaver Mozart spent his whole life in the shadow of his famous father – unjustly, as is proved by his E flat major Piano Concerto, a classically virtuosic tour de force with melancholy inflections à la Chopin. If any work of art has universal symbolism, then it’s Ludwig van Beethoven’s «Eroica», his heroic symphony, whose musical structure symbolises not just irrepressible life force but also the idea of rebirth – after the funeral march in the second movement, the vital spirits surge up again, and the Finale coruscates with joyful celebration of resurrection.