Dvořákova Praha 2024 | Memorial to Lidice

Bohuslav MARTINŮ: Memorial to Lidice, H 296
Petr WAJSAR: Violoncelloops – Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (world premiere)
Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64

Czech Philharmonic
Ingo Metzmacher (conductor)
Václav Petr (cello)

The past and the present, tragedy and emotion, the classics and technology. Deep respect for the victims of the Lidice massacre, seemingly taking the place of a moment of silence for all who are dying needlessly in the wars of today.

Only afterwards do we arrive at the immediate present with the composition Violoncelloops by Petr Wajsar, who combines classical and popular music with an incredibly deft touch. However, his “loops” are not those of a DJ playing an LP. Instead, the loops are of a cellist in the same live performance. And the principal cellist of the Czech Philharmonic, Václav Petr, really knows how to be “lively”.

The music’s tempestuous contrasts and shifting emotions are a depiction of unforeseeable fate, as if embodying all of the twists and turns of our times, when people are able to love each other or make war with the same intensity. All of the seemingly irreconcilable contradictions will remain unified thanks to the refined sound of the Czech Philharmonic under the baton of the wonderful conductor Ingo Metzmacher. 

More information: https://www.dvorakovapraha.cz/en/programme/detail/czech-philharmonic-i-metzmacher-v-petr/