Ludwig van Beethoven
Coriolan – Overture, Op. 62

Ondřej Brousek
Violin Concerto in D (world premiere; commissioned by the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava)

Paul Wranitzky (Pavel Vranický)
Symphony in C minor “La Paix”, Op. 31

Roman Patočka – violin
Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava
Jiří Habart – conductor

Like the Eroica, Beethoven’s Coriolan is a musical portrait of a hero. While the famous symphony celebrates heroism, the 1807 overture to Heinrich Joseph von Collin’s tragedy depicts a commander torn by doubt and anxiety, whose story ends in suicide. Beethoven’s music—full of tension and unrest—powerfully captures Coriolanus’s conflicting emotions.

Many know Ondřej Brousek as an actor, voice actor, and a member of the funk band Monkey Business. He is also a prolific composer of musicals, film music, and classical works. His Violin Concerto, written for the Czech violinist Roman Patočka and the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, continues a tradition associated with composers such as Beethoven, Stravinsky, Ravel, Bernstein, Sondheim, and John Williams.

Beethoven’s slightly older contemporary, the Czech composer Pavel Vranický (Paul Wranitzky), served for many years as Kapellmeister of Vienna’s court theatres. He wrote his celebratory Symphony in C minor, subtitled “La Paix” (“Peace”), in 1797 on the occasion of the Peace of Campo Formio concluded between Napoleon Bonaparte and Austria. In Vranický’s music, one hears marches of Austrian, Prussian, and English troops; the tragic fate and death of the French king Louis XVI are depicted; there is the turmoil of war and, finally, ovations for the restoration of peace.