Duo Viaggiante brings together two young instrumentalists – violinist Aleksandra Głuch and harpist Justyna Hebda. During the matinée, they will perform works by some of the greatest French composers from the beginning of the last century – Camille Saint-Saëns and Maurice Ravel – as well as compositions by artists such as Bernard Andres and Arvo Pärt, who are closer to the present day.
“I would compare my music to white light, which contains all colours. Only a prism can separate and reveal them. This prism is the soul of the listener,” says Pärt, one of the most important representatives of new music in Europe. In fact, his work is difficult to fit into a rigid framework, because it veers from accepted conventions. Fratres perfectly reflects his experimental approach – he used his own technique of tintinnabuli (Latin for “bells”). It is the idea of music that is both static and in motion, referring to the acoustic properties of bells. Although Pärt initially intended this work for violin and piano, he later arranged it himself many times for various line-ups. It will be preceded by a collection of seven small miniatures by Bernard Andres, titled Algues. Fascinated by the sound of the harp, the artist combined it with the warm timbre of the violin, thus creating an ear-pleasing cycle.
Next, there will be the charming Fantasy op. 124 by Camille Saint-Saëns, which was written towards the end of the composer’s life during his stay on the Italian Riviera. The beautiful views and carefree aura of the place surely had an influence on the work’s delightful sound in its final form. It radiates romantic virtuosity, which gains even more thanks to the subtly selected performance forces. It is not without reason that the Fantasy was intended for violin and harp, as the composer dedicated it to two sisters playing these instruments – Clara and Marianne Eisler. The programme of Duo Viaggiante will also include Conversation by Ignacy Wojciechowski, a young-generation composer who is mostly active in film music. The concert will end with the charming rhapsody Tzigane by Maurice Ravel. It was composed for the violinist Jelly d’Arányi, whom the composer met during his stay in London in the early 1920s. The virtuoso impressed him then with her performance of several Hungarian and gypsy melodies. Echoes of this type of music can be heard in this work, which is a colorful pastiche of virtuoso performances typical of Romanticism.