Brahms 2

A play of sound and sensitivity – Hosokawa’s *Sakura* opens with delicate, ethereal lines in which every detail counts. Next: cellist Daniel Müller-Schott in Saint-Saëns’ First Cello Concerto. A one-act piece that begins immediately, without a prelude: virtuosic, warm, and irresistible. Fauré’s Elegy and Brahms’s Pastorale round out the evening with French transparency and symphonic warmth.

The common thread is transformation. Sakura is another word for cherry blossom; Hosokawa creates sound from silence, with his characteristic attention to natural resonance. This connects surprisingly well with Saint-Saëns’ flowing, cyclical concerto, in which themes reappear again and again and change character. Fauré’s Élégie brings controlled intensity, after which Brahms’s masterful Second Symphony opens up the spectrum: softly radiant, clear in structure, and full of melodic richness.