Schmidt / Say

In the second programme of the season we delve into the universe of two perhaps lesser-known but extremely interesting creators. After the stylised classicism of Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 83, we will discover the compositional dimension of the great piano virtuoso, Fazil Say. The cello concerto Never Give Up is a visceral condemnation of the "horrific terrorist attacks in Europe and Turkey", to be performed by the Belgian Camille Thomas, a star player of this instrument. The Basque National Orchestra will then pass for the first time into the symphonic world of Franz Schmidt, whose reputation was overshadowed by his ambivalent political relations but whose music has been vindicated over recent years. Considered Bruckner's spiritual heir in the 20th century, his Symphony No. 4 – concluded in Vienna in 1933 as a requiem for his daughter Emma - is a work of intense lyricism, conducted by Katharina Müllner, also from Vienna and currently maestro de cappella or chapel master of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein.