NOVAT Grand Symphony Concert

NOVAT presents a grandiose symphonic program — S. Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 and the famous Pictures at an Exhibition by M. Mussorgsky in the orchestral version by M. Ravel will be performed on the stage of the theatre.

Violin Concerto No. 1 can rightfully be called one of Prokofiev’s most sunny and life-affirming lyrical works. “An enthusiastic poem, a bright hymn of life,” the outstanding violinist David Oistrakh said about the Concerto. Despite his young age (26 years old) and little experience in both violin music and the concerto genre, Prokofiev is following the path of an innovator here. The main figurative spheres in the Concerto are lyrics and sharp humor. The traditional tempo ratio has been changed in it: the two slow movements frame the fast one, and not vice versa; there are no traditional virtuoso cadences, which brings the concerto genre closer to the symphony. Prokofiev demonstrates bold, sometimes daring finds, which will then be picked up by subsequent composers. And the most important feature of the Concerto is its depth, which opens up the richest interpretation options for performers.

Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition — a cycle of piano pieces — were written in 1874. The composer’s inspiration came from the posthumous exhibition of paintings and drawings by the Russian artist Viktor Hartmann (1834-1873). The composer wrote a piano cycle in honour of the artist, and it became a musical illustration for Hartmann’s works. Pictures at an Exhibition are like a musical walk through an imaginary gallery, where we meet amazing images from real life, fairy-tale fiction and the past — The Gnome, The Old Castle, Tuileries, Cattle, Ballet of Unhatched Chicks, Two Jews, Limoges, Catacombs, The Hut on Hen’s Legs, The Bogatyr Gates. The vivid theatrical images of the Pictures turned out to be the richest material for subsequent experiments with new expressive means. Today there are over 40 different orchestrations and arrangements of this cycle for orchestra, solo instruments and ensembles. The orchestration by Maurice Ravel, made in 1922, is the most popular. The French composer was an admirer of Mussorgsky’s oeuvre and, taking on Pictures at an Exhibition, worked with special awe. Ravel proved himself to be an exceptional inventor, applied incredible timbre finds, but at the same time retained the character of the original.

The concert program will be performed by the NOVAT Symphony Orchestra with the participation of a special guest — Olga Volkova (violin, St. Petersburg), winner of international competitions, concertmaster of the Mikhailovsky Theatre Orchestra and the musicAeterna Orchestra. The conductor is Mikhail Tatarnikov.