THE GREAT FANTASIES OF MY LIFE

The closing concert of the festival on the occasion of Ivan Ženatý’s birthday

A concert with an additional remembrance of the 100th anniversary of the death of Max Bruch.

New date 22.6.2022, moved from 6. 1. 2022 - Wednesday, 19.00

Municipal House - Smetana hall

IVAN ŽENATÝ – violin

LEOŠ SVÁROVSKÝ  – conductor

FILHARMONIE BOHUSLAVA MARTINŮ

Ivan Ženatý: Even though I am a rather solitary man and do not like big celebrations, the offer from the director of the Czech Touches of Music IMF, Miroslav Matějka, to give a performance in the time approaching my birthday, and at the same time to prepare my own dramaturgy, was a touching friendly gesture. Quite spontaneously, an idea came to my mind of three violin fantasies as an expression of all my efforts, which are marked by searching and sometimes also finding, but never staying in one place. I realised that my whole existence is one great fantasy, and the objectives which I dreamt of, and the dreams which have been fulfilled, were and are the most precious things in my private and professional life.

The Fantasy in G minor by Josef Suk is not only a certain symbol of the post-Dvořák tradition but also a composition which has accompanied me since I was at the conservatory as a loyal companion which, after the initial passionate period, grew into the most intimate relationship that one can experience as regards a musical composition. Then the Concert Fantasy by Juraj Filas, to have its worldwide premiere, has a very personal character. It is moreover another result of a lifelong, almost 40-year-long collaboration between composer and interpreter, two friends who share more than just the same aptitude for art. And throughout this time, I’ve been thinking about a passage from a quote that Juraj used in the heading of his first violin sonata, Helios, which he dedicated to me and which I premiered in the early 1980s: “He always leaves on a journey but will never escape his fate …” And I have studied the Scottish Fantasy by Max Bruch and truly understood it actually in America, where, unlike in our countries, it is a steady part of the repertory of every violinist. It is an innermost composition, the most romantic of all romantic compositions, touching, sometimes triumphant and at other times schmalzy … It’s hard to think of a better score on one’s own birthday.

Juraj Filas (1955): Concerto fantasy “To the Lost Loves” for violin and orchestra (dedicated to Ivan Ženatý – World Premiere)

Josef Suk (1874–1935): Fantasy in G minor for violin and orchestra, Op. 24

----- Intermission -----

Max Bruch (1838–1920): Scottish Fantasy in E-flat major for violin and orchestra, Op. 46

  Einleitung. Grave. Adagio cantabile

  Scherzo. Allegro. Adagio

  Andante sostenuto

  Allegro guerriero