Open the soul
University Orchestra plays Gustav Mahler's 5th Symphony and William Walton's Viola Concerto at Weimarhalle
The students of orchestral instruments face a special symphonic challenge: Under the direction of Prof. Nicolás Pasquet, the university orchestra will play Gustav Mahler's large-scale and technically demanding 5th Symphony on Thursday, February 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the Weimarhalle.
Before the intermission, William Walton's Concerto for Viola and Orchestra will be heard. The soloist here is Neasa Ní Bhriain, principal violist of the Weimar Staatskapelle, who is completing her concert exam at the Weimar Music University with this performance.
Tickets at 20 euros, reduced 15 euros, are available at the Tourist Information Weimar and at the box office.
"Gustav Mahler himself wrote, meaningfully, about the 3rd movement of his symphony that the individual parts were so difficult to play that one would actually need loud outstanding soloists* in the orchestra to master it," says principal conductor Nicolás Pasquet.
"The challenge is enormous for all instrumental groups in all movements; Mahler's world of sound and feeling is always extreme! On the one hand, it's a matter of playing virtuosically and with technical excellence; on the other hand, it's a matter of opening the soul and learning to comprehend this extreme range of expression and transporting the many colors and feelings to the audience."
In his Viola Concerto in A minor, William Walton combines lyrical elements from the late Romantic tonal tradition with loose echoes of dance music and Gershwin. About the technical demands, soloist Neasa Ní Bhriain says: "The concerto needs precise speed - as in the 2nd movement - as well as double-stopping technique and a buttery legato. English landscapes with windy hills and wild rivers can be heard - as well as British humor. Walton was obviously a very funny man."
Neasa Ní Bhriain has been principal violist of the Staatskapelle Weimar since 2018, a lecturer at the Musik High School Schloss Belvedere, and, since 2022, also a lecturer at the Leipzig Music University. She is also a founding member of the "ensemble reflektor", an award-winning chamber orchestra that sees itself as an ambassador for a music culture without borders.
As a solo violist, she has already made guest appearances with the Gewandhausorchester zu Leipzig, Münchener Kammerorchester, MDR Sinfonieorchester and Wexford Festival Opera. At the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar she studied in the class of Prof. Erich Wolfgang Krüger and Prof. Ditte Leser.
[23 January 2022]