A5 Beethoven. Pichl. Berlioz. Cherubini

We have already mentioned that Classicism and the music of Czech composers has a special place in the repertoire of the PKF—Prague Philharmonia. An interesting combination of these specializations will be provided by the fifth subscription concert: Symphony in B flat major by Václav Pichl (aka Wenzel Pichl), a Czech Classical composer of the 18th century, whose legacy includes almost a hundred symphonies.

However, the PKF will also play works at this concert which it has adopted and grown to love through its collaboration with its current Chief Conductor, Emmanuel Villaume. Indeed, this Strasbourg native has introduced the members of the PKF to what is closest to his heart, making them exceptional interpreters of French music.

French music will be represented by works by Hector Berlioz and Luigi Cherubini, who, although originally from Florence, lived most of his life in Paris. Cherubini was the director of the Paris Conservatoire; he met Berlioz as a young man, but due to the generation gap, they did not befriend each other. Berlioz was interested in the emerging Romanticism, while Cherubini remained faithful to the ideals of Classicism for the rest of his life.

Cherubini’s Requiem in C minor marked the symbolic end of this era: on 29 March 1827 it was performed at the funeral of Ludwig van Beethoven, the crowning glory of the Classical era.