Guest in Lucerne

Luzern, Kultur- und Kongresszentrum
20:00 Uhr

What is more important for the act of creation – the idea or its elaboration? Brahms had a clear answer to this question: “What is called invention, that is, a genuine idea, is actually inspiration from a higher source." He held that there was nothing one could do to gain this inspiration; it was a "gift" that one then had to make one’s “rightful property through ceaseless effort”: “This need not happen soon. Ideas are like seeds, germinating subconsciously within.” Brahms’ last contribution to the symphonic genre is considered a masterpiece, although the composer initially did not think this would be the case – when working on it during his vacation in Styria during the summer months of 1884 and 1885, he drew an ironic comparison between his work and the Styrian climate, which meant that "cherries do not ripen to sweetness”. Large stretches of this symphony of farewell are characterised by nostalgia, taking the listener on a seemingly never-ending tour of discovery. Before we hear this stroke of genius, the exceptionally talented Sol Gabetta will take us on an equally moving journey of the soul by Elgar, who often indulged in musical daydreams and found inspiration in the very atmosphere: “there is music in the air...you simply take as much as you require.” The Cello Concerto was his last great creation, written shortly after the devastating events of World War I and during a period marked by worry, illness, and anxiety. Thus, despite a few glimmers of light, the tone of the work is largely sober and devoid of any illusion – after all, Elgar once said that his music was “mainly sad; but there are moments of enthusiasm and bursts of joy occasionally approaching frenzy; moods which the creative artist suffers in creating.”

Jakub Hrůša Conductor
Sol Gabetta Violoncello

Edward Elgar Konzert für Violoncello und Orchester e-Moll op. 85
Johannes Brahms Symphonie Nr. 4 e-Moll op. 98