Resonance Ensemble - Bohemian Rhapsody

Resonance Ensemble and conductor Tony Ryan delve into some of the finest if less well-known music from Bohemia, with works by Antonin Dvořák, Josef Suk and Ernst von Dohnányi. Antonin Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7 is notably more dramatic than the more widely-known New World Symphony, and its abundance of inspired melody, colourful Slavic orchestration and expressive intensity make it one of the finest symphonies of the nineteenth century. Dvořák’s Silent Woods for solo cello and orchestra is one of his most beautiful and lyrical shorter pieces and will be performed by Resonance Ensemble’s wonderful principal cellist Janet Cubey. Josef Suk was not only Dvořák’s favourite pupil, but he also became the older composer’s son-in-law when he married Dvořák’s daughter Otilie. Suk’s Fantastic Scherzo, written in 1903, demonstrates melodic flair as well as a wide range of colourful and spectacular orchestral effects. Ernst von Dohnányi, known as a Hungarian composer, but the shifting boundaries of Eastern European countries resulted in his birthplace (now Bratislava) becoming part of Czechoslovakia in 1918. Dohnányi’s 1909 ballet The Veil of Pierette contains some of his most appealing music, and Resonance Ensemble gives the New Zealand premiere of the ballet’s delightful Waltz, to complete yet another of the orchestra’s uniquely imaginative and innovative programmes.