Fresh from last week’s presentation of Mahler’s monumental Symphony No. 3, National Symphony Orchestra Principal Conductor Iván Fischer leads the musicians in a program that opens with the NSO’s first performance of “Serenade” by Léo Weiner.
“There is a certain lightness of the piece that’s rich in folkloristic flavor,” he says. “Weiner was one of the most influential Hungarian musicians during the first part of the 20th century and a leading professor at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. He was a close friend of Bartok and Kodály and his students (including Antal Dorati, the NSO’s third Music Director) say that they learned everything they knew from him.”
The Weiner piece is followed by Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C major performed by British cellist Steven Isserlis in his NSO debut. The author of books for children with such appealing titles as “Why Beethoven Threw the Stew” and “Why Handel Waggled his Wig,” he is regarded by many as the greatest living cellist.
“Steven is very imaginative and a good friend whose playing is full of poetry, expression and style,” Fischer says. “He writes for children because he finds it important to interest them in music. The Haydn fits nicely after the Weiner because both pieces are light and entertaining.”
The evening concludes with Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2. Fischer emphasizes that Weiner and Rachmaninoff represent the conservative part of their generation, yet they are opposites; Weiner’s melodies are light and elegant, while Rachmaninoff expresses deep, dark emotions.
An all-Wagner program is Fischer’s choice for the final set of October concerts. Before returning home for the 25th anniversary of his Budapest Festival Orchestra, he will present back-to-back Family Concerts of chamber music performed by NSO musicians.
Following engagements throughout the world, including a U.S. tour, Maestro Fischer will return to the NSO in February to conduct works by Bartok and Dvorák and again in April for programs featuring music by Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky and the world premiere of a piece by composer Daniel Kellogg, his second NSO commission.
“I can picture Daniel sitting at a desk somewhere right now creating the piece and I can’t wait to see and hear it,” Fischer says. “It’s always great to commission new works that attract an audience. One of my pleasant surprises here is our growing audience, often by word of mouth. At the same time, our Family Concerts bring out parents who would otherwise be too busy to attend a concert. They all discover many musical treasures, works that have a strong emotional effect on listeners by making them happy and elevating their spirits.”
If you go
Iván Fischer conducts the National Symphony Orchestra with guest cellist Steven Isserlis at 7 p.m. Thursday and 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday
* Venue: Kennedy Center Concert Hall
* Tickets: $20-$80 at (202) 467-4600, (800) 444-1324 or www.kennedy-center.org.
