ILYO 2017

A sad reality for many of our young musical talents is the many hours of practice, stressful exams at school, shows, and family members who during a get-together always ask: “play something for auntie”, “play something for uncle”....

Now there is the opportunity to play on a real stage, in front a large audience, lead by a conductor and in a philharmonic hall...
The Szczecin-based project “International Lutosławski Youth Orchestra” is making such a dream come true. To date over 300 young musicians, have been selected by competition to participate in workshops, courses and practice sessions, all taking place at the Szczecin Philharmonic. The grand finale of each edition rounds off the project in a celebratory concert.

This year’s programme of the concert, as noted above, contains pieces by Witold Lutosławski as well as Gustav Mahler’s Symphony no 1 in D major “Titan”.
Lutosławski’s Little Suite is a composition written originally for the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw, which specialises in popular and folklore repertoires. Thus, it is no surprise that this piece evokes associations with folk children’s works (titles: Fife, Hurra Polka, Song, Dance). Also, Symphonic Variations does not at all resemble Lutosławski, with Venetian Games demonstrating instead the contradictory nature of the composer. In this way, the youthfulness of the orchestra will meet the youthful character of the music.

Titan by Gustav Mahler, the Moravian born Austrian composer, is a completely different story. This monumental symphonic composition still constitutes a challenge for even the most renown orchestras in the world. Titan is a great symphonic narrative about the dramatic loneliness of an individual and his perdition. The foundation for this composition is the novel by Jean Paul. The trivial music of street fiddlers coexists here with an atmosphere of deep reflection, and if a children’s melody appears, it sounds in minor scale – like the popular song “Brother John” (part III).

And so this dream philharmonic performance will proceed from a folk play, to the decadence and depths of Mahler, guiding the young artists along a path of accelerated musical maturity.