Christmas with the Residentie Orkest

What are you going to listen to?

Those who think of Christmas envision winter scenes. In that respect, this concert comes pretty close with a Norwegian and two Russian composers of which Tchaikovsky poetically calls his symphony "Winter Dreams. Although it is fair to say that he very much enjoyed spending time in Italy, and Svendsen too comes with a symphonic poem in Italian spheres.

Forbidden Love

Today, Norwegian composer Johan Svendsen is known primarily nationally, unlike his countryman and contemporary Grieg, who enjoys world fame. In life, however, Svendsen was considered a great composer and gained an international reputation with his orchestral works, including three extensive symphonies. He wrote his symphonic poem Romeo and Juliet in 1876 when he was chief conductor of the orchestra of Oslo (then called Christiania). Whereas Shakespeare's play is a history of an impossible love filled with fierce emotions, Svendsen takes a more nuanced angle. He does not so much turn it into a descriptive symphonic poem that closely follows Shakespeare's play as a philosophical reflection, in which he gives meaning to the tragedy of forbidden love in a dramatic, but also understated way.

Most difficult piano concerto

Perhaps apart from his illustrious predecessor Liszt, Sergei Rachmaninov can safely be called the most virtuosic pianist of all time. Not surprisingly, his Piano Concerto No. 3 is considered perhaps the most difficult of its kind, although he himself was rather lighthearted about it. He wrote the work in 1909 in order to play it on his American tour. He did not have much opportunity for study, but his fabulous technique proved sufficient to allow him to perform it perfectly. The November 28, 1909 premiere with the New York Symphonic Society under Walter Damrosch was a great success. A few weeks later he performed it with the same orchestra, this time conducted by Gustav Mahler. It became a real experience for conductor and composer. Mahler had prepared himself thoroughly for the concert, had studied the score down to the smallest detail and made sure that in the orchestra they were all brought to sound. Now Rachmaninov, with several symphonic works to his credit, was an excellent orchestrator. Of course, the piano has the absolute leading role and accompanies the orchestra, but it enriches the solo part with an infinite variety of colors, melody lines and additional harmonies. With a little imagination, you could call it a grand piano sonata with orchestra. This makes the Piano Concerto No. 3 a brilliant symbiosis of Rachmaninov as composer and virtuoso pianist.

Russian winter fun

The first time Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky attempted to compose a symphony in 1866, it was not easy. Freshly graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory, his former teachers were still keeping a close eye on him, and the just-completed Symphony No. 1 had to suffer greatly. On one occasion the construction of the themes was not balanced enough, on another Tchaikovsky handled the classical forms far too freely in their opinion. He reluctantly incorporated all the criticism into the symphony, but apparently not to their satisfaction, because it never came to a performance. And the hassle brought him to complete despair; according to his brother Modest, he suffered from seizures, stabbing headaches, stomach aches, insomnia and was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. When he received an appointment as a lecturer at the Moscow Conservatory, it was only there that he was given the opportunity to present his symphony although that did not happen completely until 1868.

Tchaikovsky had titled his symphony "Winter Dreams" because much of the theme was inspired to him by the atmosphere of Russian winters. Thus, the first movement was nicknamed Dreams of a Winter Journey. The second part he called Land of desolation, land of fog. But actually the movement is not even that gloomy, rather wistful with its beautiful Slavic-like melody in the oboe. And the finale, once it is well underway after the introduction, is especially reminiscent of exuberant winter fun with ice skates and sleigh rides pulled by beautifully harnessed horses decorated with bells.

Kees Wisse