Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France

Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, conductor; Berio / Čiurlionis / Ravel

Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla dirigiert das Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France und bringt litauische Klänge zum Musikfest Berlin – Eine Dirigentin hält in der rechten Hand den Taktstock und hebt den linken Arm vor dem Orchester hoch.

The concert given by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France at the Musikfest Berlin brings together three major issues which have preoccupied human beings since time immemorial: travelling, the force of nature and the fascination for technical progress. In Luciano Berio’s ‘Voci’ for viola and two instrumental groups, the composer pursued his great passion for folk music from across the world – this work is a declaration of love for Sicilian culture. The Lithuanian conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla attaches great importance to familiarising audiences with the Late Romantic music of one of the major composers from her native country: Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis has created a vivid extravaganza on the many facets of the sea in his composition ‘Jūra’. Also on the programme is the most famous composition by the French enfant terrible Maurice Ravel: ‘Boléro’. Throughout his life, Ravel was fascinated by industrial progress, and the precise constant rhythm of his piece is reminiscent of the fine mechanics of an elaborate clock.

Luciano Berio would have been celebrating his 100th birthday in 2025. The composer lovingly reworked the folk music of his native country and many other cultures across the world, creating multilayered and meticulously detailed new compositions. For ‘Voci’, composed in 1984, he transcribed Sicilian songs for the solo viola. Love songs and lullabies, songs about work and other folk melodies sometimes appear fragmented and at other times in complete form above a delicate and tender accompaniment by the two instrumental groups. The folk melodies are vividly interspersed with musical images of the Sicilian countryside, birds and the local population.

The Lithuanian composer Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis was also inspired by folk music, but to an even greater degree by nature. In his symphonic poem ‘Jūra’, the elemental forces of the sea are unleashed by the orchestra. The vivid musical transformation of the composer’s impressions was without doubt influenced by his second artistic activity – Čiurlionis was also a trained artist. His musical and visual channels of expression fused to form unique synergies – during the composition of ‘Jūra’, he was simultaneously working on the cycle of paintings entitled ‘Funeral Symphony’ with its vibrant blue and yellow tones.

Luciano Berio (1925 – 2003)

Voci (Folk Songs II) (1984)

for viola and two instrumental groups

Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875 – 1911)

Jūra (Das Meer) (1903 – 1907)

symphonic poetry

Maurice Ravel (1875 – 1937)

Boléro (1928)

Artists/Collaborators: Antoine Tamestit, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla

19:10, South Foyer

Work introduction

Next date:

• Date Tuesday, 02/September/2025 20:00
• Venue Philharmonie Berlin
• Address Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße 1, 10785 Berlin-Tiergarten