Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen enjoys a solid international reputation. Major soloists like to stop by and come to play with confidence. The guest conductor is the Frenchman Adrien Perruchon, since '21-'22 conductor of the Orchestre Lamoureux.
The opening work is the Overture from 'Don Giovanni', KV527 by W.A. Mozart, one of his great three alongside Cosi Fan Tutte and Le Nozze di Figaro, and it begins with a few chords that immediately demand the audience's attention. His music swirls through the centuries.
Next is a work by Kalevi Aho (1949), one of Finland's most leading contemporary composers. He is described as one of the best new romantic composers of the postwar generation. His compositions combine the best of both traditional and modern musical forms and structures. He is a particularly brilliant and colorful writer for full orchestra, and many of his works for symphony orchestra contain brilliant solo passages for individual players. That is certainly the case in this Concerto for harp, flute and orchestra. He created this double concerto tailored to Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen.
The two soloists are, on the one hand, our Flemish Anneleen Lenaerts, who has been principal harpist of the Wiener Philharmoniker since 2010, and on the other hand the renowned American flutist Marina Piccinini, who actively contributes to expanding the repertoire for her instrument.
The ladies appear in glittering silver outfits. Both parts are more or less matched to each other, demanding extremes both technically and in expression. The ethereal tones of the flute, countered by the fluid tones of the harp, create a dreamy atmosphere. It becomes a concert full of surprises: fierce and agitated, small and delicate, serene and stately. Sometimes they complement each other, sometimes they play in unison. Moments of flute fireworks alternate with sparkling and harmonious passages from the harp. Sometimes they also enter into dialogue. Alongside frenzy and volume, the composition also has lightness, and the orchestra too can make itself heard.
Flutist Marina Piccinini is literally and figuratively shining. Her silver dress catches sparkles of light with her movements, like the sun on a water surface. A beautiful appearance and also a phenomenal flutist. Her playing is simply virtuosic.
The composer was present in person and saw that it was good. By chance he sat next to me. He experienced the concert intensely. His composition was greatly appreciated by the audience. Afterward he was invited onto the stage as well and, together with the soloists and the orchestra, received enthusiastic and prolonged applause.
After the intermission, the audience can get acquainted with work by the young composer Jonathan Pinchuk (2001), 'Werden de jaren stil' (Years Grow Quiet). A creation within the framework of the SOV Composers' Academy. With a contemporary gaze, Pinchuk looks at Mozart's classical style. This happens through a memory.
The program concludes with the Symphony No. 40 in G minor, KV 550 by W.A. Mozart, which belongs to his last symphonies. The summer of 1788 was not the happiest time for Mozart. In the spring he lost a child, his wife was sickly, his own health was likewise poor, and financially they were on the ground. His spirit dealt strategically with the craters that life had carved into his soul. With willpower he forced himself to accept everything. His outlet was music. Mozart was 31 when he began his last symphonic works. Not a commission, but purely out of passion and willpower, he put three symphonies on paper in the span of six weeks.
Works in G minor always carry a special emotional weight for Mozart. The first movement, Molto Allegro, sounds the most familiar to the ears. The symphony is undoubtedly one of Mozart's most admired works. It is often performed and recorded and thus belongs to our collective memory. The whole is composed of complex harmonies and extended melodic lines.
Conductor Adrien Perruchon tackles it with fervor. The orchestra responds in a convincing manner, full of nuance and empathy. The palette between "light and dark" is played with finesse.
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