Bach. Tchaikovsky. Vivaldi. Mendelssohn
Stradivarius Ensemble of the Mariinsky Theatre

The Mariinsky Theatre Stradivarius Ensemble comprises a group of musicians performing on the most famous and unique-sounding string instruments in the world. The ensemble was established on the initiative of Valery Gergiev, Artistic and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre.
The Stradivarius Ensemble is made up of the best musicians and leading soloists of the Theatre’s Symphony Orchestra. Their performances of popular and dearly-loved classical works sound completely different to concerts thanks to the incredibly rich and unbelievably beautiful timbres of the instruments made by Amati, Stradivarius, Guarneri, Guandini and Gofriller.

"To His Royal Highness, Monseigneur Christian Ludwig, Marquis and Count of Brandenburg… in carrying out your request, and also seeing that the small musical talents Heaven has granted me bring you a certain pleasure … I have taken it upon myself to fulfil my most humble duty to Your Royal Highness by sending these concerti, composed by me for several instruments." It was in this flowery though humble style, in accordance with etiquette of the age, that Johann Sebastian Bach wrote on the covers of his six Brandenburg Concerti – the most virtuoso works, where he demonstrated the very limits of orchestral possibilities of the time. Each of the six concerti is like a precious stone with its own unique colouring, set in a beautiful necklace. The concerti belong to the then common Concerto grosso form, intermingling the sounds of a given section of solo instruments with the general orchestral mass. The instrumental composition of each concerto is strictly individual. Like a skilled artist, Bach combines timbre and colour, attaining his own, at times unexpected but always justified, results.
In the Fourth Brandenburg Concerto, there is a solo violin and pair of block flutes with their characteristically tender, matt timbre. "Flauti d´echo" is how Bach denotes them at the very start of the work. The echo effect, the effect of instrumental interchanges, emerges as the main idea of this concerto. The highly complex and effective violin solo is the embodiment of the real world, of what is human, while the somewhat cool flute timbre represents the heavenly world, now close, now distant. The interchanges of the flute in the second movement, the somewhat melancholy, "ethereal" andante, sound like the reflections of a hitherto unknown, shimmering world. The final bold fugue is constructed on the initial quarter motif of the confirmation and acceptance of God´s will.
It is not known if Bach managed to hear the Brandenburg Concerti in his own lifetime. And after the composer´s death his works left the frontline of the music world. Johann Sebastian Bach´s unique "rehabilitation" in the 19th century, albeit in his own romantic style, came with composer Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. A performance of the Matthäuspassion, conducted by him in 1829, proved a groundbreaking event in Europe. Mendelssohn´s own music was a stranger to the deep ciphers of Bach´s works.

The Fourth Symphony, Die Italienische, was written by the young Mendelssohn who had been influenced by travel to Italy. "Italy appeared before me so gentle, so quietly welcoming, with such an all-pervading tranquil pleasure and joy that it was impossible to describe. <…> The whole country was somehow festive, and it always seems as if you are some omnipotent Duke travelling through it," the composer wrote to his family. A similar mood is conveyed by the music of the symphony, radiant and positively life-affirming. Like an attentive and delighted observer, Mendelssohn depicts the musical impressions of sunny Italian nature and Italian life. In the first movement of the symphony and in the finale, the nature of dance reigns supreme. In the finale, Mendelssohn even includes the Italian folk dance the Saltarello, with its characteristically resilient "tarantella" rhythm in third. The comfortable, а-la-Haydn light minuet and the thoughtful second movement form a contrast to the dynamic dance melodies of the first movement and the finale. The composer allocated the second movement the secondary title of "Procession of the Pilgrims" – one of the most beloved of all Romantic images. The main theme of the second movement is like church chant sung by pilgrims, while the low voices denote draw their monotone and measured steps.

For Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, sunny Italy was one of his favourite spots, recollections of it periodically springing up in his works, as do memories of the Classicism of the previous century.
Serenade for Strings was composed and arranged in Kamenka in September-October 1880. In a letter to Nadezhda von Meck, Tchaikovsky wrote "I wrote … Serenade in line with my inner state; it is an emotion-filled piece and, I dare to say, therefore not bereft of true qualities." When writing the Serenade, Tchaikovsky focussed on images of music from Classicism. "In the first movement, I paid my dues to my worship of Mozart; this is a deliberate imitation of his style, and I would be delighted if people found that I am not too far from the image taken," the composer also wrote. The introduction (Andante non troppo) and the main section (Allegro moderato) of the first movement are filled with constructive sternness, objective severity and dismissiveness. The second movement is a Waltz, a nod towards the everyday in music, typical for a serenade. This is the sphere of the "worldly", a symbol bearing life, a theme resembling the Waltz from the Serenade appears later, in the second movement of Tchaikovsky´s Sixth Symphony. The third movement is an Elegy, a world of profound thoughts, the introduction of the string orchestra ling the singing of a church choir, and in the perturbed middle section there is an expression of the confusion faced by the human soul. In the finale of Tchaikovsky´s Serenade there is a quotation of melodies from two Russian folk songs: the long drawn-out barge hauler´s song (Oh, How It Is in the Meadow) and the dance "street" song (Under the Apple Tree). The dance rhythms that hold sway in the finale take on a flexibility and embossed feel, the impetuous dance becomes a fateful energy that overpowers the lyrical feelings.

Yegor Kovalevsky