Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

Running time: approximately 2 hour and 5 minutes, including an interval


Soloist: Arabella Steinbacher, violin

Programme: 
Samy Moussa, Adgilis Deda: Hymn for Orchestra (2024) 
Samuel Barber, Violin Concerto, Op. 14

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Sergei Rachmaninov, Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27 

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (1919), one of Canada's largest orchestras, is making its first-ever European tour – with a stop in the Slovenian capital. The Grammy and Juno Award-winning ensemble, one of the few orchestras in the world to have its own music school, has for many years thrived under the artistic leadership of its Music Director Otto Tausk. The Dutch conductor, whose musical expertise ranges from historically informed performances to new works by today’s composers on both opera and concert stages, is winner of the prestigious ‘De Olifant’ Prize, recognising his contribution to the arts in the Netherlands. (2011). 

As a musical ambassador for Canada, the orchestra’s selection for the opening piece is the Canadian composer Samy Moussa’s Hymn for Orchestra, inspired by the dreamy landscapes of Georgia. Samuel Barber’s dazzling, incredibly virtuosic Concerto will be played by one of today's leading violinists on the international concert scene, Arabella Steinbacher. The German virtuoso, once the youngest protégés of the legendary Anna Chumachenko, is a multiple award-winner with an extensive discography. The programme concludes with Rachmaninov’s sweeping, intensely emotional symphony, fraught with turmoil and showcasing the composer’s genius in melodic invention and rich orchestration.