Czech This Out: Janáček – Tchaikovsky – Dvořák

Leoš Janáček Rhapsody for orchestra “Taras Bulba”

Pyotr Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35

Antonín Dvořák Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88

Josef Špaček, violin (Czech Republic)

“INSO-Lviv” Symphony Orchestra

Theodore Kuchar, conductor (USA – Ukraine)

Student of Itzhak Perlman, a Czech violinist Josef Špaček, and an outstanding American conductor of Ukrainian descent Theodore Kuchar who once opened to the world the genius of Ukrainian symphonic music Borys Lyatoshynskyi will meet in Lviv sharing the stage with “INSO-Lviv” Symphony Orchestra to plunge into the realm of music by Janáček, Dvořák and Tchaikovsky. The Czech classical music composer Leoš Janáček wrote “Taras Bulba” Rhapsody during World War I and this piece is entirely inspired by the Gogol’s story plot. The program to proceed with Tchaikovksy’s Violin Concerto. As it was with the majority of masterpieces being ahead of its time this piece by Tchaikovsky was accepted by his contemporaries with certain difficulties and violinists did not want to perform it explaining their unwillingness by its extreme difficulty for a solo violin. Today, this so-called ‘textbook’ piece is one of the most frequently performed Violin Concerto in the world. Dvořák’s Symphony No 8, completed in 1889, received this review from the composer’s contemporary and prominent critic Eduard Hanslick: “Dvořák is a serious artist who learned a lot, but despite of his profound knowledge did not sacrifice spontaneity and freshness”.