C major in three shades

This evening is structured according to a time-tested concert format: overture – solo concerto – symphony. It’s a format that dominated the 19th century and was a staple of European concert halls – and to this day, it works like a well-designed musical drama.

The Overture to The Abduction from the Seraglio (1782) was written for the imperial stage in Vienna – Mozart was only 26 at the time, but already a star. Oriental motifs were highly fashionable then, which is why the score features percussive effects, Turkish rhythms, and fast tempos. Interestingly, Mozart wrote it almost at the last minute – the orchestra received the sheet music just before the premiere. Today, the overture is often performed as a standalone, energetic concert opener.

Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C major was long considered lost. It wasn’t until 1961 that a manuscript was discovered in a Prague archive. The piece was composed around 1765 for Josef Weigl, a cellist in the court orchestra. Haydn, one of the creators of the modern concerto form, treats the solo instrument with great care, though without technical mercy: rapid passages, cadenzas, and register leaps abound. Especially significant is the fact that in Haydn’s time, the cello rarely played a leading role – it was usually part of the accompaniment. This concerto marks a turning point.

Closing the evening is Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 2 in C major, Op. 61, written over a month at the end of 1845, during a period when the composer was struggling with declining mental health. He approached composition as a form of self-discipline – writing without a piano, committing the music directly from his mind to paper. The symphony is classical in form, but dense in texture, full of contrapuntal interweaving and multilayered structures. One can hear the influence of Beethoven and Bach, but also Schumann’s idiom – full of tension, unexpected turns, and inner conflict. In the finale, a quote from a Bach chorale returns, which Schumann saw as a symbol of spiritual light.

The soloist for the evening will be Maciej Kułakowski, one of the most outstanding young Polish cellists. A laureate of the Lutosławski Competition and finalist of the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, he performs successfully on stages across Europe and Asia. His interpretations combine technical precision with musical intuition – qualities especially valuable in Haydn’s music. The orchestra will be conducted by Maestro Maciej Tworek.

Schumann's Symphony No. 2 performed by hr-Sinfonieorchester under the baton of Marek Janowski