Dresdner Musikfestspiele: Kevin Zhu — Prague Philharmonia — Villaume

About the Event

An inspiring concert featuring violinist Kevin Zhu and the Prague Philharmonia conducted by Emmanuel Villaume. Paganini is followed by Dvořák: the young American violinist Kevin Zhu, who recently “climbed the Mount Everest of violin literature” at the Dresden Music Festival with Paganini's 24 Caprices (Musik in Dresden), can be heard this season performing Dvořák's only and much‐too‐rarely performed violin concerto. Stylistically, it belongs to the so‐called Slavic period, in which the Czech composer turned to the folklore of his homeland with particular intensity. So what orchestra would be better suited to interpret this concerto – which is extremely symphonic in style – together with the soloist than the Prague Philharmonia, praised for its clear and radiant sound? It was in their hometown that Richard Wagner's only completed symphony was premiered by conservatory students in 1832. This magical evening under the dome of the Frauenkirche, conducted by the French conductor Emmanuel Villaume, opens with Weber's overture to “Der Freischütz”, which may be considered a condensed tone poem of the material processed in this opera: love, death, despair and black magic.