Inspired by red carpets & the world of cinema, we decided to name this concert “Premiere Night” to celebrate new works by living composers. 

The evening begins at an earlier time of 6.30 pm with the Swiss premiere of Peter Eötvös’ Fermata. Performed by our partner, the Ensemble Contrechamps, 15 musicians will take to the stage, each 5 feet apart, to perform a socially-distanced concerto.  The latest restrictions from the health authorities? Luckily not this time! Eötvös replays the pandemic years which normal life suddenly comes to a standstill and invites us to re-examine the tensions of our society in this short work.

After the performance lasting c. 12 minutes, concertgoers are invited to descend to the foyer of the Victoria Hall for a presentation of the evenings discoveries (the bar will be open). 

The concert recommences at 7.30pm with the OSR performing Nina Šenk’s composition, Changing. Written for large orchestra, also in the context of the pandemic, the percussion line-up is equally something to look forward to, featuring instruments such as the vibraphone, glockenspiel, marimba, tam-tam, wind chimes, without forgetting of course the percussion staple, the triangle!

Peter Eötvös conducts the Swiss premiere of another recent work, Cziffra Psodia. Celebrating 100 years since the birth of famous Hungarian pianist, György Cziffra, the concerto is performed by its dedicatee János Balázs.

After another short interval, the evening concludes with a performance of Lutosławski’s Concerto for Orchestra, a work that invites a new interpretation of Polish folk melodies.