NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra / Valeriy Sokolov / Juraj Valčuha

Juraj Valčuha, principal conductor of the Turin-based Orchestra della RAI (Italian Broadcasting), has been a regular guest of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra since his debut in 2014, and has made a name for himself on the Elbe mainly with music by Eastern European composers.

This evening’s soloist is violinist Valeriy Sokolov, who was born in the Ukraine in 1986. The British radio station Classic FM described his readings of Bartók’s Second Violin Concerto as »a revelation«: »After the Hungarian rhythms that open the work, played with great finesse, the quiet intensity of the second movement is nothing short of breathtaking; finally, the ecstatic dynamic power of the closing movement forces the listener to the edge of his seat.«

After the interval, we get the chance to rediscover a largely unknown work by a very well-known composer: Prokofiev’s Third Symphony. It was written in 1928, based on themes and motifs from the composer’s opera »The Fiery Angel«. »It seems to me that I have managed to expand my musical language« – thus Prokofiev on what is perhaps his most modern and most personal symphony.