Antonín Dvořák
Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36

Bryan Cheng – cello
Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava
Daniel Raiskin – Chief Conductor of JPO

Nostalgia for home, friends, and the Czech landscape is deeply embedded in Antonín Dvořák’s Cello Concerto. The work was composed during the composer’s stay in America in 1894–1895 and is filled with lyrical expression and beautiful, broad melodies. As a tribute to the dying Josefina Kounicová—Dvořák’s sister-in-law and his youthful, unfulfilled love—he inserted a quotation from his song Leave Me Alone (Kéž duch můj sám) into the touching slow movement of the concerto.

The composition’s path to becoming one of the most frequently performed and beloved Romantic cello concertos was opened by its successful premiere in London 130 years ago, performed by cellist Leo Stern with the Philharmonic Society under Dvořák’s own baton.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, composed during his stay in Italy between May 1877 and January 1878, was the composer’s first true masterpiece in the field of symphonic music. The tragic and emotionally turbulent collapse of his brief marriage, together with his awareness of his own sexual orientation, led Tchaikovsky to reflect on the obstacles of fate, despair, and the struggle to overcome them on the path toward happiness and joy.