Münchner Philharmoniker & Vilde Frang

Unfortunately, due to medical reasons, Janine Jansen has been forced to cancel the concerts (in Munich and) on tour with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and Lahav Shani. We wish Janine Jansen a speedy recovery and express our sincere gratitude to Vilde Frang, who has kindly agreed to take over all scheduled dates with the program remaining unchanged.

Under Stalin, Dmitri Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto didn’t stand a chance. The Russian composer began putting the first notes to paper as early as 1947, but had to abandon any hope of a performance after he – like Prokofiev – was accused of formalism. They were forced to admit their ‘mistakes’ and promise to write only music for the people. It was only after Stalin’s death that the work received its premiere in 1955. Vilde Frang masters her violin in this whirlwind. Next, we wander from one canvas to the next to the ponderous tones of the ‘Promenade’ theme in Pictures at an Exhibition. Maurice Ravel’s orchestration of Mussorgsky’s piano suite surpasses the original. “Ravel has performed the work of both the creator and the arranger,” wrote critic Vuillermoz in 1922. The Munich Philharmonic, conducted by Lahav Shani, guides us through the programme.