1. Symphony Concert

Antonín Dvořák
Othello, Overture op. 93
Violin Concerto A-Minor op. 53
Symphony No. 8 G-Major op. 88

Staatsorchester Stuttgart under the direction of Marek Janowski opens its concert season with the great melodist Antonín Dvořák and a special opportunity for a young up-and-coming musician. For the first time, the soloist for this concert was chosen through a submission competition where students and graduates of German music conservatories were invited to enter. The winner, Veriko Tchumburidze, will perform Dvořák's only violin concerto, one of the great concertos of the Romantic era. Dvořák received the commission for the concerto in 1879 from his publisher Fritz Simrock after the success of his "Slavonic Dances". This time, too, as the breakneck 'Furiant' proves at the end of the concert, the dances of his homeland served him as an inexhaustible source of inspiration. Ten years later, Dvořák was planning a new symphony. It was supposed to be completely different from his previous one, "with individual thoughts that were worked out in a new way". In fact, his 8th symphony, which is bubbling with Bohemian melodies, marks a turning point in his work. With this work he stepped out of the shadow of his patron Johannes Brahms and freed himself from the traditional form of the symphony. Shortly before another turning point, the move to America in 1892, Dvořák created his colorful concert overture “Othello”, inspired by Shakespeare's rousing tragedy.