The Orchestral Concert III will be conducted by the Italian conductor Gianandrea Noseda. Together with violinist Augustin Hadelich and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, he will present an evening of works by Edvard Grieg, Peter I. Tchaikovsky and Dmitri Shostakovich. Find out more about this extraordinary concert programme in the interview.
Mr Noseda, this is not the first time you will be performing in Salzburg. What is your special connection to this city?
Gianandrea Noseda: I visited Salzburg as a child with my parents. I returned as a young musician to attend some opera performances projected in the square. As a conductor, I was invited to conduct Verdi's »Il Trovatore« at the 2015 Festival, and now I am returning for the Easter Festival for a concert with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. It is always a joy to come back to one of the world's great musical capitals and to the city where Mozart was born. In Salzburg, modernity and tradition coexist.
The topic of the festival will be »Wounds & Wonders« – that is a good fit for all these pieces, right?
Gianandrea Noseda: Shostakovich’s »Symphony No. 9« was born amid the wounds and horrors of World War II, showing us a possible and unexpected way out: from the ruins, one can rebuild, be reborn, and envision a future based on values different from those responsible for war.
Ibsen’s »Peer Gynt«, set to music by Grieg, tells the story of the fall and eventual redemption of an anti-hero against the backdrop of a Nordic setting, enriched with the colors and atmospheres typical of Scandinavia.
Tchaikovsky’s »Violin Concerto« caused the composer much pain due to its initial rejection by prominent virtuosos of the time and the harsh criticism it received when it was finally performed. However, the success, appreciation, and popularity the concerto gained in the following years— and which continue to this day—have solidified its status as a true masterpiece.
How did you choose the pieces for this concert?
Gianandrea Noseda: The idea connecting the pieces in the program lies in the unique light of the North that permeates all three works. It is the delicate, pearlescent glow of the »White Nights« described by Dostoevsky and Ibsen, which in winter transforms into a cold, eerie, and mysterious darkness.
The soloist is Augustin Hadelich - you already know the artist. How would you describe his style of playing?
Gianandrea Noseda: Augustin Hadelich possesses exceptional virtuosity, always dedicated solely to serving the music. With him, performances are never about spectacle—they are pure music, played with love and integrity.
Shostakovich is regarded as one of the most contradictory composer personalities of all. Why is that?
Gianandrea Noseda: Shostakovich was fiercely protective of artistic freedom and independence, a stance that put him at odds with the oppressive control the Stalinist Soviet Union sought to impose on composers. This internal struggle was his true drama—yet despite, and sometimes even because of, the restrictions placed upon him, he found a way to express himself. His music is charged with this tension, manifesting in explosive clusters of sound juxtaposed with moments of dark introspection.
The 9th Symphony was premiered shortly after the end of the war and disappointed many in comparison to the pathos-laden 7th, the »Leningrad«. Why is that?
Gianandrea Noseda: In »Symphony No. 9«, an element of fleeting lightness emerges, heightening the impact of the desolate woodwind soliloquies and the grotesque brass chorales. Though it is the shortest of his symphonies, its five movements reveal a vast and masterful conception.
Which of the composers would you like to have a drink with and why?
Gianandrea Noseda: I would love to drink an espresso with Tchaikovsky to start the new day with energy and positivity. To share a glass of Riesling with Grieg while gazing at the river and the hills of Salzburg, immersed in nature. To drink vodka with Shostakovich, looking into his eyes through his thick-lensed glasses, without saying a single word—simply savoring the sound of
silence.
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