Repertoire

Antonín Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104 (1895) 40′
Franz Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 104 in D major, “London” (1795) 28′

ARTISTS

Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (OBC
Narek Hakhnazaryan, cello
Jan Willem de Vriend, conductor

Programme

Jan Willem de Vriend, who was principal guest conductor of the OBC, is once again at its helm. In this concert, he presents two works written towards the end of their composers’ lives: Antonín Dvořák’s Concerto for Cello and Franz Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 104.

The former consistently refused to write a cello concerto, arguing that it was not a suitable instrument for a work of this nature. Finally, at the insistence of cellist friends, and after hearing a great soloist while he was in the US, he changed his mind and created what has gone down in history as one of the greatest concertos for cello.

Haydn wrote what was to be his last symphony in London. Like his entire stay in the British capital, the premiere was a complete success, attended by an audience that was wildly enthusiastic about Europe’s most renowned composer’s latest composition.