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The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia on WRTI: Two Premieres and a Beloved Concerto, June 19, 5 PM

Detail of Titian's VENUS AND ADONIS.

On this month’s concert broadcast of performances by The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, we’ll hear two premieres and one of the greatest violin concertos in the repertoire. 

The world premiere is Venus and Adonis by the Italian composer/conductor Salvatore Di Vittorio. This single movement work is a pavane for orchestra, primarily based on Titian’s masterful painting. Centering on Venus’ loving attempt to keep Adonis from his fatal hunt, the music follows in the tradition of pavanes by well-known composers such as Maurice Ravel’s Pavane for a Dead Princess and Gabriel Fauré’s Pavane. The composer conducts.

Next is an American premiere by Dirk Brossé, the Chamber Orchestra’s music director. "I dedicate Echoes of Silent Voices to the victims of the Holocaust, and to all people who are suffering from war, hatred, and racism," says Brosse. "I seek to honor those who have their voices — their liberty, autonomy, and very humanity — suppressed by forces that deem such songs unworthy."

Violinist Lana Trotovsek

To close the broadcast, it's Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. In 1838, Mendelssohn proposed composing a violin concerto for his friend and concertmaster of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, Ferdinand David. He quickly sketched the general layout of the concerto, his hectic workload delayed completion by five years. Nevertheless, it was well worth the wait. David premiered the concerto in 1845 to great acclaim, and the work quickly entered the standard repertoire.

Soloist for both the Brossé and Mendelssohn works is the young violinist Lana Trotovsek. Described as “radiant” by The Washington Post, the Slovenian-born, London-based violinist was a student of Ruggiero Ricci. In September 2014, she appeared in two concerts with Yuri Bashmet and the Moscow Soloists performing Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante. She made her debut with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra in 2012 with Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No.1. Listen on Sunday, June 19th, from 5 to 6 pm on WRTI.