Jakub Hrůša conducts Kodály, Bartók, Dvořák, and Janáček

Travel to the wilds of Eastern Europe with four folklore-infused gems by Hungarian and Bohemian masters, performed by the storied Vienna Philharmonic and Czech maestro Jakub Hrůša! Their dynamic program opens with Kodály’s Dances of Galánta, a vivid evocation of the composer’s childhood experiences in the eponymous market-town, where the colorful sounds of a folk orchestra left an indelible mark on his artistic sensibility. Next up is a favorite work by Bartók, perhaps the composer most associated with the championing of traditional music in classical settings. His suite for the pantomime ballet The Miraculous Mandarin features intoxicating dances and complex sonic landscapes, depicting the hustle and bustle of a small city through vivid rhythms and bold dissonances.

Dvořák’s mastery of musical storytelling is on full display in The Wild Dove, the dark tale of a woman haunted by guilt after murdering her first husband; her guilt, embodied poetically by the figure of a dove, leads her, with shades of Poe, to the depths of desperation. Janáček’s Taras Bulba, a tone poem inspired by Gogol’s novel, closes the evening with the intensity of war cries, the courage of battle, and the glory of triumph, a performance of incredible stamina and powerful expression by the Vienna Philharmonic under Hrůša’s baton.