Pekka Kuusisto & André de Ridder

National Symphony Orchestra
André de Ridder conductor
Pekka Kuusisto violin

Bryce Dessner Mari [Irish Premiere] 
Bryce Dessner Violin Concerto [Irish Premiere]
Dvořák Symphony No. 7 
 
An exciting occasion: new music from new NCH Artist-in-Residence, The National guitarist and leading composer, Bryce Dessner. 

Named after the Basque forest goddess, Mari borrows from Dvořák and Mahler for an immersive ‘reflection on the pastoral’. Written for ‘fantastically exciting violinist’ (The Times) Pekka Kuusisto, Dessner’s Violin Concerto, inspired by thoughts of pilgrimage and the sea, is a fierce, fiery journey towards a blazing end. Dvořák’s masterpiece Seventh Symphony is a thing of orchestral wonders.

Did you know?

As co-founder of rock band The National, Bryce Dessner has twice topped the Irish Albums Charts.

Dessner’s film soundtracks include The Revenant and The Two Popes.

His collaborators include pop royalty Paul Simon and Taylor Swift, and composers Steve Reich and Philip Glass.

Dvořák was a keen pigeon fancier and an enthusiastic train buff.

Listen out for…

The borrowing of themes from Dvořák’s New World Symphony and Mahler’s Third Symphony in Mari.

How the relationship between violin and orchestra changes in Dessner’s Violin Concerto, and the solo spots for every orchestral instrument in the second movement.

The contrast between the sinister opening of Dvořák’s Symphony (whispering violas and cellos against rumbling basses and timpani), the clarinet-led folk-like second movement and the sudden change of mood as minor-key clouds are dispersed by a blaze of sunshine.

Presented by NCH