1st Symphony Concert

For his first symphony concert as GMD of the Hessisches Staatsorchester, Leo McFall has compiled a programme that runs "like one great crescendo" (in the words of McFall himself). The concert starts with the fragmentary soundscapes of Charles Ives' "The Unanswered Question". The work for flute quartet, trumpet and strings of one of the American composer's best-known compositions. Three independent sound worlds overlap and open up a musical space for the "eternal question of existence" (Ives). "Germinate", a short contemporary orchestral piece by British composer Charlotte Bray (b. 1982), was first performed in 2019. The small musical fragments that grow into a dialogue between piano trio and orchestra are taken from Ludwig van Beethoven's Triple Concerto for the same instrumentation. Bedřich Smetana's homage "Má vlast" takes the listener on a journey through the places and myths of his eponymous "fatherland". It leads along the Vltava River, through meadows and forests, past fortresses and through battles. Rarely performed in its entirety, this symphonic poem is being performed here to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Czech national composer.