“As an abstract art form, music can evoke different visions for each individual being, because we are all unique,” says Tüür, summing up the purpose and essence of his music. With Aditus, the Estonian composer, known primarily for his instrumental works, pays tribute to his compatriot and colleague Lepo Sumera, who died in 2000. This Latin word means entrance, entry, approach. The work explores existential questions, and its chromatic melodies evokes a multitude of thoughts in the listener.
The first symphony is an important milestone in the oeuvre of all post-Beethoven composers. Schumann composed his Symphony No. 1 during one of the happiest and therefore most productive periods of his life, and after several aborted attempts. The Beginning of Spring, Evening, Merry Playfellows, Spring in Full Bloom – these were the programmatic titles of the movements. And although Schumann eventually cast them aside, the piece, sketched out in four days and written in less than a month, was given its sobriquet by the composer.
In 1915, a grandiose celebration was organized for Sibelius’s 50th birthday. The composer conducted the first version of his Symphony No. 5, and later revised the work twice. The symphony, who was by this time struggling with health problems, exudes heroic determination with movements that are all in major keys. The first movement merged the previous opening movement with the scherzo. The pleasantly swirling but intricately structured music builds on fragmentary motifs. Beneath the surface of the simple variation of the slow movement, the mood of the finale is set, and this movement, which tenderly captures the flapping of the wings of a swans before leading to the triumph of the swan theme, concludes the work.

Presented by: Budapest Festival Orchestra