SCHUMANN Manfred Overture
SIBELIUS Violin Concerto
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 7
Sibelius’s Violin Concerto had an unusually troubled beginning. It received its first performance on 8 February 1904 under far from ideal circumstances. Although the work was dedicated to the violinist Willy Burmester and was originally intended for a Berlin premiere, financial difficulties led to its first performance in Helsinki, with Victor Nováček as soloist. The result was widely considered unsuccessful. Disappointed by the outcome, Sibelius withdrew the concerto and deposited the score at the University of Helsinki with instructions that it should not be performed again, a wish that remained largely respected until the early 1990s, when his heirs finally granted access to the manuscript. Following the Helsinki premiere, Sibelius undertook a substantial revision of the work. This definitive version was premiered in Berlin in 1905 by the Berlin Philharmonic, with the orchestra’s concertmaster as soloist under the direction of Richard Strauss. In tonight’s performance, the concerto is entrusted to Lisa Batiashvili, joined by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under the baton of Klaus Mäkelä. To conclude the evening, the Dutch orchestra performs Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7. Commissioned by the Philharmonic Society of London, the work was composed in 1884 and premiered to great acclaim the following year at St James’s Hall, conducted by the composer himself. Today regarded as one of Dvořák’s finest and most frequently performed symphonies, it stands among the crowning achievements of his symphonic maturity.
