Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92

Sergei Prokofiev
Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16

Jan Lisiecki – piano
Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava
Daniel Raiskin – Chief Conductor of JPO

Richard Wagner described Ludwig van Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony as the “apotheosis of the dance.” Its jubilant and optimistic character makes it one of the most joyful works Beethoven ever composed, despite his worsening health at the time. Written in 1811–1812, the symphony was first performed on 8 December 1813 at a charity concert in Vienna conducted by the composer himself. The orchestra included leading musicians of the day, among them Ignaz Schuppanzigh, Louis Spohr, Antonio Salieri, and Johann Nepomuk Hummel. The symphony will be heard at the beginning of 2027, marking the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death.

Sergei Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto received a stormy and divided reception at its premiere in 1913 in Pavlovsk near St. Petersburg: some members of the audience reacted with hostility, while others enthusiastically celebrated the composer. The original score was lost during the revolutionary events of 1917, and Prokofiev reconstructed the work in 1923. The concerto abounds in Lisztian virtuosity, its music alternating between dark, grandiose passages and sparkling, grotesque toccata-like sections in the spirit of Prokofiev’s famous Classical Symphony. In Ostrava, it will be performed by one of the world’s most sought-after pianists, Jan Lisiecki.