Brahms/Larcher/Zemlinsky

«One laughs, the other weeps»: Johannes Brahms’s typically tongue-in-cheek description of the relationship between his Academic Festival Overture, which Fabien Gabel put on the programme two weeks ago, and the gripping, sombre Tragic Overture heard tonight. This fits perfectly with Thomas Larcher’s cello concerto «returning into darkness», written for the fabulous Alisa Weilerstein and enjoying its Austrian premiere in this concert: «A journey that begins with a glissando out of silence and ends with a glissando into silence», is how the Tyrolean composer describes this work, which also harmonises with Alexander Zemlinsky’s sad and beautiful fairytale fantasy «Die Seejungfrau» (The Mermaid). And harmony has long characterised the collaboration between Larcher, Gabel, Weilerstein and the Tonkunstler Orchestra – this is music-making in a spirit of friendship.

PROGRAMME

*Johannes Brahms: Tragic Overture in D minor op. 81
*Thomas Larcher: «returning into darkness», Concerto for Cello and Orchestra
*Alexander Zemlinsky: «Die Seejungfrau» (The Mermaid) fantasy for orchestra after Hans Christian Andersen (revised version)

CREDITS

Alisa Weilerstein violoncello, Fabien Gabel conductor, Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich orchestra