Programme Notes
Dvořák and Bartók Thu 15 January 2026 • 20.15 Fri 16 January 2026 • 20.15
PROGRAMME conductor Lahav Shani violin Vilde Frang Béla Bartók (1881-1945) Violin Concerto No. 2, Sz. 112 (1937–38) • Allegro non troppo • Andante tranquillo • Allegro molto intermission Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) Symphony No. 8 in G major, op. 88 (1889) • Allegro con brio • Adagio • Allegretto grazioso – Molto vivace • Allegro ma non troppo concert ends at around 22.00 Most recent performances by our orchestra: Bartók Violin Concerto No. 2: May 2021, violin Leonidas Kavakos, conductor Lahav Shani (online) Dvořák Symphony No. 8: Aug 2025, conductor Miguel Sepúlveda One hour before the start of the concert, Michel Khalifa will give an introduction (in Dutch) to the programme, admission € 7,50. Tickets are available at the hall, payment by debit card. The introduction is free for Vrienden.
Cover: Photo Nils Rasmusson (Unsplash)
Nelahozeves, Antonín Dvořák’s place of birth. Postcard (1911) by Zikmund Katz publishers, Kralupech
Béla Bartók. Etching (1981) by Imre Kovács
Brimming with folk music Stirring rhythms, virtuoso ornamentation, and infectious melodies: Béla Bartók and Antonín Dvořák were both inspired by the music that sang out from homes and local inns, farmyards and village squares. Whilst international success opened doors for Dvořák, the world of Bartók closed in as fascism tightened its grip on Europe.
In the last few weeks of 1938 Bartók completed a concerto for his good friend violinist Zoltán Székely. Since Székely’s student days with Jenő Hubay at the Budapest conservatoire – where Bartók also taught – they regularly performed together. Even when the young and talented Székely left an antisemitic Hungary in 1922 to find a home in Nijmegen, their friendship remained true. Bartók regularly visited the Netherlands and Székely never failed to include Bartók’s music in his recitals wherever the opportunity arose. In August 1936 Székely asked his friend to compose a violin concerto for him. Bartók agreed. The virtuoso violinist, whose childhood home had resounded with folk music, was the dream soloist for the music that he was contemplating. Thanks to years of fieldwork, during which he recorded on a phonograph the singing of labourers from all corners of the Hungarian kingdom, he had discovered his own musical voice. From the very first entry of the solo violin, this concerto is redolent of the influence of folk music in its
pointy rhythms, melodic twists and turns, variation forms, and the soloist’s virtuosic fireworks. Sometimes the violins pluck the strings so hard that they snap against the fingerboard, a technique known as the ‘Bartók pizzicato’. It is a sound that references the verbunkos: a dance usually accompanied by Roma musicians, in which the men strike their boots with the back of their hands. The concerto ends with two of these snaps.
No longer safe
In the latter half of 1938 Székely started to receive copies of the manuscript, movement by movement. Not only for the soloist himself, but also for the copyist who would have to write out the parts for the orchestra, as well as an extra copy, just in case. Bartók, who did nothing to hide his distaste for the Hungarian regime, was himself no longer safe in Budapest. He no longer permitted his music to be performed in Germany and Italy, and ceased further cooperation with his
Austro-German publisher, which fell entirely under the control of the Nazis. It appeared that the only option was to emigrate, but Bartók was hesitant about leaving Hungary. What could he do abroad if he were unable to continue his investigation into folk music? Teach piano in some small-town music school? And could he leave his mother behind in Budapest? In early March 1939 Bartók was in Paris for some concerts, and asked Székely to visit him there so they could go through the violin concerto together. ‘Make sure you know the solo part inside out before you get here’, he wrote. They worked together for four days in the apartment of Pál Hermann, Hungarian cellist and friend of both since their student days. It would be the last time they would see each other. Bartók returned to Budapest and had to miss the Amsterdam première of his violin concerto on 23 March 1939. In early 1940 he finally took the decision to emigrate to the US, where he died in September 1945. During a Nazi razzia in Toulouse, Pál Hermann was arrested and deported. He never came back. Zoltan Székely was forbidden by the occupiers from performing and had to wait for the liberation to be able to perform again. There was a delay in the news of Bartók’s death reaching him, during a concert tour in London.
Music with a smile
Fifty years previously, in his summer villa in a small village to the south-west of Prague, Antonín Dvořák had written down the first sketches for his Eighth Symphony. His success as a composer had provided sufficient funds to buy a small piece of land and build himself a beautiful villa. Unlike Bartók, he was revered by those in power. The following spring he would be appointed as member of the Emperor Franz Josef Czech
Academy for Sciences, Literature and the Arts, a celebratory occasion marked by this symphony. The symphony brims with the composer’s own happiness, the peaceful rural setting, and the influences of Czech folk music. Dvořák hardly needed to undertake any field studies; he had imbibed the music since his birth. He had grown up in an inn run by generations of his family, a stone’s throw from the church in Nelahozeves, a small village by the Vltava river. Music was performed on the violin, trumpet and zither, familiar instruments in the Bohemian countryside. A young Antonín made himself popular by playing the violin in the family inn. He also took lessons on the church organ from the local music teacher.
From the solo violin’s first entry, this concerto is redolent of the influence of folk music in its pointy rhythms, melodic twists and turns, and virtuosic fireworks In his Eighth Symphony, all these musical memories tumble over each other, starting with a beautiful folksong melody in the lower strings, and then glistening clarion calls and chorale-like chords, interrupted by chirping birdsong of the flutes, and vibrant, swirling dance music. In the slow second movement even the young, violin playing Antonín joins in. It is music that brings a smile to every listener’s face. The symphony became almost immediately an international success. After a concert in London Dvořák wrote to a friend: ‘After the finale, the applause was tempestuous. They all clapped so hard, it was almost unbearable. I was called back to the concert podium several times.’ Carine Alders
Photo: Marco Borggreve
Photo: Marco Borggreve
Lahav Shani • chief conductor
Vilde Frang • violin
Born: Tel Aviv, Israel Current position: chief conductor Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra; music director Israel Philharmonic Orchestra; chief conductor designate Münchner Philharmoniker (from 2026/27) Before: principal guest conductor Vienna Symphony Orchestra Education: piano at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music Tel Aviv; conducting and piano at the Academy of Music Hanns Eisler Berlin; mentor: Daniel Barenboim Breakthrough: 2013, First Prize Gustav Mahler International Conducting Competition in Bamberg Subsequently: guest appearances Wiener Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, Gewandhaus Orchester, Münchner Philharmoniker, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, London Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Debut Rotterdam Philharmonic: 2016
Born: Oslo, Norway Education: First violin lessons at age four, violin study at the Barratt Due Institute of Music, Oslo, further studies with Kolja Blacher at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg and with Ana Chumachenco at the Kronberg Academy Breakthrough: As 12 year old soloist with the Oslo Philharmonic and Mariss Jansons Subsequently: Berliner Philharmoniker, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, London Symphony, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; festivals of Salzburg, Verbier, Lucerne, BBC Proms, Prague Spring, George Enescu Festival Instrument: ‘Rode’ Guarneri from 1734 Debut Rotterdam Philharmonic: 2019 (tour)
Agenda Music for Breakfast 3 Sun 25 January 2026 • 10.30 HAKA Gebouw musicians and programme: rpho.nl/en Fri 13 February 2026 • 20.15 conductor Tarmo Peltokoski violin Simone Lamsma Brahms Violin Concerto Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 3 ‘Pastoral’ Sun 1 March 2026 • 14.15 conductor and piano Lahav Shani Dukas The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Shostakovich Suite for Variety Orchestra Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 2 Strauss Till Eulenspiegel Thu 12 March 2026 • 20.15 Fri 13 March 2026 • 20.15 Sun 15 March 2026 • 14.15 conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali cello Senja Rummukainen Rimski-Korsakov Capriccio espagnol Elgar Cello Concerto Shostakovich Symphony No. 6 Desplat Conducts his Film Music Fri 20 March 2026 • 20.15 Sat 21 March 2026 • 20.15 conductor Alexandre Desplat Desplat Music from Godzilla, The King’s Speech, The Shape of Water and other films
Musicians Chief Conductor Lahav Shani Honorary Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin Principal Guest Conductor Tarmo Peltokoski
Galahad Samson José Moura Nunes Kerstin Bonk Janine Baller Francis Saunders Veronika Lénártová Rosalinde Kluck León van den Berg Olfje van der Klein Jan Navarro
First Violin Cello Marieke Blankestijn, Emanuele Silvestri Concert Master Gustaw Bafeltowski Vlad Stanculeasa, Joanna Pachucka Concert Master Daniel Petrovitsch Quirine Sche’ers Mario Rio Hed Yaron Meyerson Eelco Beinema Saskia Otto Carla Schrijner Arno Bons Pepijn Meeuws Rachel Browne Yi-Ting Fang Maria Dingjan Killian White Marie-José Schrijner Paul Stavridis Noëmi Bodden Petra Visser Double Bass Sophia Torrenga Matthew Midgley Hadewijch Hofland Ying Lai Green Annerien Stuker Jonathan Focquaert Alexandra van Beveren Arjen Leendertz Marie Duquesnoy Ricardo Neto Second Violin Charlotte Potgieter Frank de Groot Laurens van Vliet Elina Staphorsius Jun Yi Dou Bob Bruyn Eefje Habraken Maija Reinikainen Babette van den Berg Melanie Broers Tobias Staub Sarah Decamps Viola Anne Huser Roman Spitzer
Clarinet Julien Hervé Bruno Bonansea Alberto Sánchez García Clarinet/ Bass Clarinet Romke-Jan Wijmenga Bassoon Pieter Nuytten Lola Descours Marianne Prommel Horn David Fernández Alonso Felipe Freitas Wendy Leliveld Richard Speetjens Laurens Otto Pierre Buizer Trumpet Alex Elia Adrián Martínez Simon Wierenga Giovanni Giardinella
Trombone Pierre Volders Javier Clemen Martínez Alexander Verbeek Marta Fossas Mallorqui Remko de Jager Mario Fernández Bass trombone Rommert Groenhof Flute Juliette Hurel Tuba Joséphine Olech Martijn van Rijswijk Manon Gayet Flute/Piccolo Beatriz Baião Oboe Karel Schoofs Anja van der Maten
Timpani/ Percussion Danny van de Wal Ronald Ent Martijn Boom
Harp Oboe/Cor Anglais Albane Baron Ron Tijhuis