We begin at the outskirts: the sky is darkening, the air is getting sticky. Joseph Suk’s Meditation on an Old Bohemian Chorale was written in 1914, on the eve of war, as a patriotic Czech dig at Austrian nationalism. At that time, the Austrian national anthem was required playing at the beginning of every concert. So, Czech orchestras also performed Suk’s piece, in protest. Suk uses the ancient “St. Wenceslas” Chorale as his subject, a classic marker of Czech culture. In the work, Suk pleads to the patron saint of the Czech people to save them from the impending violence. In the later piano score, a portion of the chorale is found above the title: “Let us not perish, nor our progeny.”

Now we sail into the storm – hold on tight! Shostakovich’s Sonata for Violin and Piano was written for acclaimed violinist David Oistrakh’s 60th birthday, 30 September 1968. Shostakovich had originally composed his second Violin Concerto for this occasion but had finished it a year too early – Oistrakh was only 59. The first and third movements are largely influenced by Bach’s music, featuring orderly variations and fugues. But it is the central movement in the Sonata that erupts into storm. After the first movement’s strict formal approach, the second bursts into a Klezmer-infused dance, building intensity into a thumping climax.

A flash of light – the sun shines through the clouds! As you savour the sun’s warmth, a rainbow begins to crest the sky. But we aren’t out of the storm yet, the thunder has just begun to crackle. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 stands apart for its unusual instrumentation: three violins, three violas, three cellos, and basso continuo – a unique structure that feels more modernist than Baroque. The interplay of strings creates a rich texture without distinguishing solo from ensemble roles. Here the storm brews in the rhythmic drive and interplay between groups. The lack of a fully developed middle movement leaves space for interpretation, and tonight Andrew Armstrong fills the space with a reflective interlude before diving back into the storm of the final movement’s cascading torrents. Contrary to Bach’s characterization, the Brandenburg Concertos are among the most wide ranging, refined, and structured works of the Baroque era. 

The storm is over. Over the now silent waters, the sky has finally become clear. For the first time you can see beyond the confines of this world, staring into the infinite span of the night sky. Written after the death of his first wife, J.S. Bach’s Chaconne from Partita No. 2 in D Minor stands alone as perhaps the most performed Bach piece in his oeuvre. This is partly due to the number of transcriptions that exist for the piece, covering every solo instrument and ensemble imaginable. Today we hear the MCO play this masterpiece of the Baroque era in a new arrangement by our own Karl Stobbe.