Vladimir Jurowski conducts Schütz, Brahms, and Zimmermann

On 5 March 2014, at Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, the Svetlanov State Orchestra under the direction of Vladimir Jurowski, will play the next concert of the Moscow Philharmonic Society’s “Facets of Life Eternal: Oratorio Masterpieces” subscription series. On the program are works by German composers of the 17th, 19th, and 20th centuries: two psalms by Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672), the German Requiem by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), and Ecclesiastical Action by Bernd Alois Zimmermann (1918-1970).

Of the Ecclesiastical Action, composed in 1970 on commission from the city of Kiel for the 1972 Munich Olympics, Vladimir Jurowski says: “Zimmermann created a deeply pessimistic and tragic work. It does contain references to sports: the actors have to assume certain positions (track runner high and low start positions, star jumps, etc.). But all of this is suffused with utmost sarcasm and irony because in the modern Olympics Zimmermann saw the glitzy, commercial side as well as a way to distract people from the true problems of contemporary life, for which he saw no solutions.”

Soloists: Miah Persson (soprano, Sweden) and Dietrich Henschel (bass-baritone, Germany); Speakers: Yevgeny Tsyganov and Andrey Semyonov. Also featured are the Choir of the Popov Academy of Choral Arts and the Alta Capella Early Instruments Ensemble.