Wagner. Liszt. Bruch

The National Honored Academic Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, conducted by Volodymyr Sirenko and featuring violinist Mykhailo Zakharov, presents a program of landmark works from European Romanticism.

The first half opens with the Prelude to Richard Wagner’s opera Lohengrin, centered on the image of the Holy Grail descending from the heavens. The sound emerges from a weightless, radiant harmony, gradually enriched by new timbres as it unfolds into a majestic orchestral crescendo. Upon reaching its climax, the music dissolves once more into a transparent, celestial light. This seamless transition—from silence to brilliance and back again—evokes a sense of mystical revelation and timeless beauty.

Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor is among the most celebrated works in the violin repertoire. Its core is the soulful Adagio—one of the most poignant examples of Romantic cantilena and one of the most beautiful slow movements in all of violin literature. The combination of melodic generosity and orchestral richness has established this concerto as a true classic.

The second half is dedicated to Franz Liszt’s A Faust Symphony (first version), inspired by Goethe’s famous drama. The work paints musical and psychological portraits of three central figures—Faust, Gretchen, and Mephistopheles—revealed through contrasting thematic and orchestral textures. In this first version, the symphony concludes without the choral episode, maintaining a purely orchestral finale that emphasizes the philosophical openness of the concept.

Together, the works of Wagner, Bruch, and Liszt represent different facets of the Romantic worldview—ranging from profound spiritual focus to grand philosophical synthesis—shaping a cohesive artistic portrait of the era.