Program:
Marios Christou: Greek Memorial to Lidice for string orchestra and clarinet
Arthur Honegger: Symphony No. 2 for String Orchestra and Trumpet, H.153
Tigran Mansurian: Requiem
The opening concert of the 8th Festival will feature music as a challenger to suffering through human experience and hope. Marios Christou's Greek Memorial to Lidice pays tribute to the victims of tragedy, as does Arthur Honegger in Symphony No. 2, where a lone trumpet urgently calls for peace. Tigran Mansurian'sRequiem then closes the evening with a meditation on human frailty but also unbreakable hope. The native of Beirut, Lebanon, whose music is published by the prestigious Munich-based ECM label, dedicated the work to the victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1917. The ensemble of musical personalities will be led by world-class hornist and conductor Radek Baborák.