Mark Minkowski needs no introduction to Warsaw audiences. Between 2008 and 2012, he served as Music Director of Sinfonia Varsovia. This French conductor of Polish descent has long enjoyed an international reputation and is universally regarded as one of the leading exponents of historically informed performance. He is especially admired for his brilliant interpretations of opera and the symphonic repertoire, both of which will feature in his programme with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed the Italian opera seria La clemenza di Tito (The Clemency of Titus) towards the end of his all too brief life, after completing the opera buffa Così fan tutte and almost simultaneously with the German Singspiel Die Zauberflöte. The overture to La clemenza di Tito, with its compelling inner drama, foreshadows the conflicts and dilemmas of power that lie at the heart of the opera’s libretto.
Joseph Haydn’s Symphony in D major, Hob. I:104, composed in 1795, was the last of his twelve ‘London’ symphonies and was written during the composer’s stay in England. Its premiere at the King’s Theatre was a resounding success. The audience responded with particular enthusiasm to the finale, whose unmistakable allusions to folk music were associated with Croatian folklore.
It is said that critical remarks made by a fellow conductor and friend prompted Anton Bruckner to deliberately exclude his Symphony in D minor, written in 1869, from the official catalogue of his works. As a result, it came to be known as ‘Annulierte’ (‘Cancelled’) and ‘Die Nullte’ (“No. 0”). When the work was finally premiered in 1924, it proved to be a masterpiece in no way inferior to Bruckner’s other, ‘numbered’ symphonies. At the same time, the story of this symphony serves as a reminder of a familiar truth: every genius risks having their wings clipped by envious mediocrities.
Grzegorz Zieziula
