2nd Symphony Concert

Karol Szymanowski’s Symphony No. 4, the “Sinfonia concertante,” is a work of movement. It is not a solo concerto in the classical sense, but rather a vibrant exchange between the piano and the orchestra. Rhythmically sharp, harmonically dazzling, with passages of almost dance-like lightness and sudden intensification. The piano drives, comments, contradicts—it is both the driving force and the counterpoint. In the hands of Tamara Stefanovich, this solo part becomes a precise source of energy: clearly defined, imbued with analytical insight, and yet full of inner fervor. Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9, by contrast, is conceived within a musical aesthetic reminiscent of the interiors of cathedrals. Vast arcs of tension, eruptive outbursts, fragile moments of ethereal silence. The first movement wrestles with fate, the scherzo hammers relentlessly, and the adagio opens up a space beyond time. André de Ridder shapes this music not as a monument, but as a living process: breathing, clear, with a sense of structure and the abyss. Two works that do not assert intensity, but create it. Karol Szymanowski (1882–1937): Symphony No. 4 “Sinfonia concertante” Anton Bruckner (1824–1896): Symphony No. 9