The 1917 silent film The Assassination of the Duke of Guise is a milestone in the development of cinema. A historical drama depicting the murder of the French nobleman and warlord Henry I of Guise in 1588, it is one of the very first examples of music written specifically for a film. French composer Camille Saint-Saëns composed six pieces for piano, harmonium and strings that follow the plot and mood of the film. The music and film have a running time of about 17 minutes.

Game Songs of Travel is part of the EU project of the same name. The game consists of five chapters exploring different aspects of migration by following the personal stories of five individuals fleeing their home countries to a new beginning in Europe. The music is by Fairplay Chamber Music and was composed by Irish composer Elaine Agnew.
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This evening concert is part of the EU project Songs of Travel and reflects different aspects of travel, both physical and spiritual. We will be immersed in music originating from many geographical locations and often related to dramatic contexts.

Traveling is a magical phenomenon, which transforms the old person into a new person. From this point of view, our life is a journey with the final destination of meeting our death." - Hawar Tawfiq

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ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Sergei Prokofiev 'sHebrew Overture was written in 1919 in the USA, inspired by a collection of Jewish folk melodies. The work is written for the unusual combination of clarinet, string quartet and piano, and the sound world is reminiscent of Klezmer and other Jewish music.

This is followed by a selection of short works for solo piano by Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov, performed by Daria van der Bercken. Silvestrov's deeply meditative and atmospheric piano music has been described as 'silent songs', expressing a longing for the lost and the eternal.

The festival's second commissioned work is by the Kurdish composer Hawar Tawfiq, now based in the Netherlands. Written for chamber ensemble and voice, Voyage is based on texts by the 13th century Persian poet and mystic Jalal al-din Rumi. Rumi's poems express Sufi mysticism and use rich images and symbols to depict the boundlessness of love and the essence of religion.

Chopin's Ballade in F minor, one of his most popular and dramatic works for piano, performed by Finghin Collins. The ballad is an example of Chopin's genius for creating a story with music that evokes strong emotions in the listener. Chopin wrote the ballad between 1842 and 1843, during a period when he was traveling between Paris and Nohant, where he lived with his beloved George Sand.

The concert ends with Ralph Vaughan-Williams ' song cycle Songs of Travel with lyrics by Robert Louis Stevenson. The songs depict the experiences and reflections of a traveler and express wanderlust, beauty, love, doubt, loneliness and spirituality. Vaughan-Williams wrote the songs between 1901 and 1904 and they have become one of his most frequently performed works.

The concert features works by four composers who have explored travel and encounters with other cultures in different ways, one of which is the fifth and final commissioned work of the festival.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

We begin with a bittersweet Romance for violin and piano by Amy Beach, considered the first successful American female composer. The romance was written for her husband as a wedding gift, a wedding that in many ways marked the end of Beach's career as a pianist but also the beginning of her composing career.

Franz Liszt's Petrarch sonnets were originally written as songs with text by the Italian Renaissance poet Francesco Petrarch but later Liszt rewrote them in versions for solo piano as part of his second collection of pieces called Pilgrim's Years and it is this version that we encounter here. The sonnets are examples of Liszt's late style, characterized by rich harmony and enormous spiritual depth.

The work Ode to Napoleon is a celebration of Arnold Schoenberg, who would have turned 150 in 2024. Considered one of the most influential and innovative composers, this work was written in 1942 in the United States, where Schoenberg was forced to flee during World War II. Schönberg based the work on a poem by Lord Byron, who criticized Napoleon for his lust for power and cruelty, and the work can be seen as a protest against tyranny and dictatorship. The setting with reciter, pianist and string quartet is typically Schoenbergian and the work blends elements of both tonal and atonal music in a celebration of the ideals of freedom.

After the break, we return to the present with a work by Norwegian composer and professor Lasse Thoresen. Commissioned for the Songs of Travel project, Every Minute opens a door is a musical reflection on the challenges and opportunities of migration.

"The starting point for my piece will be Vladimir Levchev's poem The Refugee, which ends with the compelling words: we may have traveled to eternity." - Lasse Thoresen

The concert ends with Amy Beach, whose music we also met at the beginning. The piano quintet is perhaps her most successful work and has become a favorite among many concertgoers and musicians alike. The quintet was written after a trip to Europe where she studied French and German music and here you can sense influences from both Brahms and French impressionism, while Amy Beach's own strong musical identity constantly shines through!

The program consists of four beloved works divided between different ensembles. The result is a collaboration between our music students and festival musicians where everyone gets the chance to contribute to the big picture.

PROGRAM:

Franz Schubert - Overture in C minor
Giovanna Sevi, Svetlana Riger, Asbjørn Nørgaard, Caroline Hansen, Douwe Eisses

Amanda Maier-Röntgen - Piano Quartet in E minor
1. Allegro
Finghin Collins, Dora Lapuste, Klara Kotarsky, Annika Valkeajoki

2. Andante
Gustav Schantz, Janina Olszewska, Alvin Sunding, Jakob Koranyi

3. Presto con fuoco
Daria van den Bercken, Guilherme Perez, Meeri Mäenpää, Herman Pellbäck

4th Finale: Largo espressivo - Allegro vivace
Julija Sadaunykaite, Adriana Černiukaitė, Asbjørn Nørgaard, Clara Simpson

-PAUS

Claude Debussy - ur 6 Epigraphes Antique
1. to invoke Pan, god of the summer wind
3. in order that the night be propitious
6. to thank the morning rain
Astri Aareskjold, Peter Friis Johansson

Felix Mendelssohn - Piano Trio No 1 in D minor
1. Molto Allegro agitato
Gustav Schantz, Luise Kallmeyer, Jakob Koranyi

2. Andante con moto tranquillo
Gustav Schantz, Guro Kleven Hagen, Eric Drougge

3rd Scherzo: Leggiero e vivace
Herman Pellbäck, Guro Kleven Hagen, Eric Drougge

4th Finale: Allegro assai appassionato
Herman Pellbäck, Guro Kleven Hagen, Filip Graden