Repertoire
Bernat Vivancos: U (2021) 20′ – World première, commissioned work
Edward Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 (1919) 32′
Sergei Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 (1935). Selection 20′
Artists
Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (OBC)
Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello
Duncan Ward, conductor
Program
The paradigm of love in the form of an unattainable longing is found unmistakeably in the story of Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare masterfully conveys the tension between young love which is liberating and adult society which is oppressive in this classic that has survived to this day and which is a constant source of reinterpretations. Sergei Prokofiev relied on this dramatic text in composing the ballet Romeo and Juliet, one of the composer’s most famous works and one filled with iconic themes and motifs.
PROGRAMEdward Elgar’s Cello Concerto is one of the last pieces in his oeuvre, full of maturity and with transparent orchestration. A cornerstone of the modern cello repertoire, the soloist intersperses a fabric of melancholic and elegiac recitatives with sections of dazzling vivacity.
The music of Bernat Vivancos, guest composer for the 2021-2022 season, is a constant search for living, glowing harmony. In U, for full orchestra, the composer takes another step forward with his musical language, reaching new heights of aesthetic daring: the micro-tonal language is interleaved with the orchestral discourse as a clash of textures, in a score that combines auditory magma with sequences of crystal-clear luminosity.
