Abstract
Johannes Brahms’s Double Concerto in A minor op. 102 was written in Switzerland in 1887. On Lake Thun, with views of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, the composer was «unable to resist the inspiration for a concerto for violin and violoncello.» The unusual instrumentation did not motivate Brahms to create superficially virtuoso solo parts, but to write a concertante work of epic character. Ilya Gringolts and Christian Poltéra, two internationally renowned instrumental soloists, will be giving their début with the Philharmonia Zurich.
Besides this work, Robert Trevino will be conducting a large-scale work of orchestral literature that places the highest demands on instrumentalists: Sergei Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances – the composer’s last completed work, written on Long Island in 1940. In this three-movement composition, Rachmaninov looks back on his entire symphonic oeuvre.