Perfect lightness

This concert might appear light and playful. Because of the fairy tale. Because of the flute. Because of C major. But let’s not be misled. It is music that sounds effortless only when it comes from the hands of a master and meets a masterful performance.

The evening’s program features three French compositions written within just 80 years of one another. All were composed between the Second Empire and the interwar period. Yet, none of them followed the dominant styles of their times. What unites them is clarity, wit, and freshness-and the fact that each was underappreciated or even forgotten for many years.

Paul Dukas composed The Sorcerer’s Apprentice in 1897, inspired by Goethe’s ballad. It’s a symphonic scherzo, but its structure and orchestration are far more carefully crafted than its fairy-tale theme might suggest. Dukas, known for his obsessive self-criticism (he destroyed most of his work), left this piece as one of the few he was delighted with. And rightly so – dynamic storytelling, precisely guided texture, and orchestral wit are the hallmarks of this score. It only gained widespread popularity with Walt Disney’s Fantasia (1940). Still, the quality of the music stands on its own, without the cartoons.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Dukas performed by hr-Sinfonieorchester under the baton of Lionel Bringuier:

Jacques Ibert composed his Flute Concerto in 1933 for Marcel Moyse, the legendary French flutist and teacher. The piece is brilliant and highly demanding, both technically and stylistically. Ibert didn’t belong to any dominant school – neither the neoclassicists nor the modernists. His musical language was distinct: elegant, ironic, rhythmically sharp, and rich in orchestral color. The concerto has three movements: a dynamic allegro, a lyrical andante, and a virtuosic finale – all delivered with a lightness that doesn’t rely on simplification.

In the Golden Hall of the Philharmonic, the piece will be performed for us by Zofia Neugebauer, a Polish-born flutist, graduate of the Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker, who captivates audiences around the world with her remarkable talent.

Ibert's Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, performed by Emmanuel Pahud (flute) and the Orchestre National de Lyon conducted by Alain Altinoglu:

Georges Bizet wrote his Symphony in C major in 1855, at just 17 years old, as a student at the Paris Conservatory. The work wasn’t published during his lifetime – it remained in manuscript form for decades and was only discovered in 1933. Today, it stuns with its maturity of form, clarity of texture, and melodic instinct. It is not a youthful exercise – it’s a full-fledged symphony that stands proudly alongside the works of Haydn or Mendelssohn. Its transparent structure and energetic storytelling show that freshness doesn’t mean a lack of depth.

The common denominator of these three works is lightness, not as carefree frivolity, but as the mastery of form so refined that it can lift us. Music that delights and entertains – but only when written and performed with the utmost precision. In short, fun is reserved for masters.

Bizet's Symphony in C major performed by the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra conducted by Gordan Nikolić:

The Szczecin Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by Ewa Strusińska – a conductor with international experience, renowned for her energy, precision, and exceptional ability to build relationships both with the orchestra and with the audience. She is well known to the Szczecin audience as the first conductor and music director of the Philharmonic – it was under her leadership that the orchestra moved into its new home at Małopolska 48, entering a new stage of artistic development.