Festival Glasperlenspiel
Sat, July 12th at 7 pm, St. John’s church (Jaani Str. 5, Tartu)
STRAUSS & STRAUSS
Wiener Kammersymphonie (Austria)
Johann Strauss junior – 200, Johann Strauss senior, Josef Strauss, Richard Strauss
Of course, a Strauss concert cannot be without hits like Rosen aus dem Süden, Wiener Polka, Galopin Polka, Fledermaus Quadrille, Perpetuum mobile, Champagner Galopp, etc.
Based on Molière’s play of the same name, Le bourgeois gentilhomme, Op 60 (widely known in German as Der Bürger als Edelman) by Richard Strauss is an orchestral suite composed on the incidental music for the play by Hugo von Hofmannstahl. The latter had the idea to simplify and shorten the plot of Molière’s Le bourgeois gentilhomme and serving it as a prologue to then a one-act chamber opera Ariadne auf Naxos.
The first performance of this new stage project took place at the Court Theatre in Stuttgart on October 25th, 1912. However, it became apparent already during the premiere that the ambitious idea had some weak spots. First, fitting a play and an opera into one night was quite expensive and rather time consuming, but the evening was further prolonged by the nearly hour-long reception held by the King of Württemberg between the play and the opera. Secondly, as Strauss himself remarked: „a public that goes to the theatre does not want to hear an opera, and vice versa“. Following the unsuccessful premiere of the night, Strauss and Hofmannsthal revised the work and separated the play and the opera from each other. The suite was premiered in Berlin on April 9th, 1918 under the direction of the composer himself.
Wiener Kammersymphonie: Anna Morgoulets – 1th violin, Muhammedjan Sharipov – 2th violin, Vincenzo Starace – viola, Sergio Mastro – violoncello and artistic director, Felipe Medina – double bass
Wiener Kammersymphonie (WKS, Vienna Chamber Symphony) is an ensemble composed of highly talented musicians performing in Vienna. The group brings to its’ audiences a vast musical repertoire from classics to 19th century to contemporary compositions, often performing works by (unjustly) forgotten and overlooked composers – bringing out the very best of the ensemble members. The WKS usually performs as a string quintet. The ensemble was founded in March 2006 in the “Year of Mozart” and made its outstandingly successful debut with a series of concerts in Spain that met with both public and critical acclaim describing the group as the best performers of a long season entirely dedicated to Mozart.Following this experience the WKS realised a series of projects dedicated to the musical contempories of Mozart. In 2008 they performed at the Umbria Music Festival with a “crossover project” fusing the pure Viennese classic style with that of hip-hop dance. This was followed by performances at the prestigious Vienna Musikverein and led to invitations to play at numerous international festivals including the Ankara Festival in April 2009 and many Italian theatres like the Teatro N. Piccinni in Bari, Ravello Festival, Alba Music Festival and Side Music Festival in Turkey. Subsequently, the WKS has performed in South America (Brazil, Argentina and Colombia) and Istanbul. And of course in Europe – Spain, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, England, Poland…
The WKS performs as a string quintet following similar musical and artistic components of the chamber orchestra, with a “symphonical” concept. For example an unique version of the Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony in an arrangement for string quintet, and even string arrangement of Piano Sonata Pathétique.
Organizers:
Peeter Vähi – artistic director
Tiina Jokinen – executive director
Kadri Kiis – producer, accountant
Meeta Vardja – musicologist, editor of festival booklet
Mart Kivisild – design
Olavi Sööt – co-producer, logistics
Reno Hekkonens – marketing director, PR
Johannes Vähi – co-producer, webmaster, logistics
Rebeca Birk – social media
Special thanks: Tartu City Government, Urmas Klaas, Triin Käpp, Jana Raud, Ministry of Culture of Estonia, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, St John’s church, Kaupo Kiis, Kristel Leppik, volunteers
Previous festivals: 2024; 2023; 2022; 2021; 2020; 2019; 2018; 2017; 2016; 2015; 2014; 2013; 2012; 2011; 2010; 2009; 2008; 2007; 2006; 2005; Archives: Glasperlenspiel 2003 and 2004