Pēteris Vasks
Cantabile

Marc-André Dalbavie
Concerto for Flute and Orchestra

Robert Schumann
Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 97 “Rhenish”

Zofia Neugebauer – flute
Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava
Geoffrey Paterson – conductor

The music of the Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks speaks, with restrained means, about nature and human existence. Birdsong, forests, the starry sky, and the sea are among the principal sources of inspiration for his meditative compositions. On the occasion of his 80th birthday (16 April 2026), Cantabile for strings (1979) will be performed—an early work influenced by the Polish New Music movement, in which Vasks expresses the beauty and harmony of our world.

The Flute Concerto by contemporary French composer Marc-André Dalbavie was written in 2005 for the flute legend Emmanuel Pahud. Dalbavie’s compositional style, often described as spectral, abounds in timbral and coloristic effects and dazzles with rhythmically demanding, rapid passages.

A genuine Romantic spirit pervades Robert Schumann’s Third Symphony, the “Rhenish.” It was composed in the autumn of 1850, shortly after the composer took up his post as conductor and music director in Düsseldorf. This five-movement work reflects the powerful impression of a visit to Cologne Cathedral, the character of the Rhineland—whose people and landscape captivated Schumann—and the majestic flow of the Rhine itself, one of Germany’s national symbols. The music of the “Rhenish” unfolds as a series of magnificent symphonic tableaux, forming a grand and cohesive musical whole.