On Tuesday 18 November at 7.30 p.m., the Sociedad de Conciertos La Filarmónica will present works by Beethoven and Dvořák in the Sala Sinfónica of the Auditorio Nacional de Música de Madrid.
It is known that, in the Italianized Vienna of the eighteenth century, Beethoven had a predilection for macarons with cheese and was also a great fan of coffee. His obsession with this drink led him to develop a very precise daily routine for its preparation: he counted exactly 60 coffee beans to prepare each cup, convinced that it was the perfect measure to achieve the ideal taste and aroma. The meticulous precision with which Beethoven prepared his daily coffee reflects his perfectionist personality.
Coffee arrived in Europe in the 17th century by Venetian traders who introduced it from Arabia. At first it was a luxury drink for the aristocracy, but with the opening of the first cafeterias in Vienna, the consumption of this energetic infusion became popular and became a source of pleasure that encouraged social life.
Antonín Dvořák was born in 1841 in Nelahozeves, a small town in Bohemia. His father, a butcher by profession, played the zither and it was he who initiated him into music. In 1864, already established in Prague as a professional musician, Dvořák began to give piano lessons to the Čermák sisters, belonging to an aristocratic family. The composer fell passionately in love with his older sister, Josefina, an actress, although their love was not reciprocated. Six years later, he married his sister, Anna.
At the end of his stay in the United States, Dvořák composed his Cello Concerto. Coinciding with the end of their contract at the New York Conservatory, the Dvořák family received a letter from Josefina informing them that she was seriously ill. Shortly afterwards they returned to Prague, where Josephine died a month later. Deeply affected and in homage to his muse, that impossible love of youth, Dvořák decided to modify the coda of the concert incorporating the melody of his lied Déjame sola, Josefina’s favorite piece.
The Mozarteum Salzburg Orchestra, under the baton of conductor Trevor Pinnock, and together with cellist Julia Hagen (pictured), will perform the Overture to Mozart’s Magic Flute; the Concerto for cello and orchestra by Dvořák, and Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. Tickets can be purchased at this link.