The Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra prepares a spectacular concert for Friday, February 27, to perform under the baton of conductor Kerem Hasan at Kolarac Hall from 8 P.M. The program that carries the signature of our beloved late Chief Conductor Gabriel Feltz, features works by Jean Sibelius, Benjamin Britten, and Richard Strauss. Strauss’s An Alpine Symphony will bring no fewer than 102 Philharmonic musicians to the Kolarac stage.

The repertoire offers some of the most evocative musical tributes to nature. Sibelius’s Night Ride and Sunrise journeys through the dark northern night toward dawn, while Britten’s Four Sea Interludes from the opera Peter Grimes paint vivid seascapes – from the calm of early morning waters to the force of a storm.

Strauss’s An Alpine Symphony is a monumental symphonic poem originally conceived for more than 120 musicians. Inspired by nature, the work traces a day-long ascent through the Alps, from sunrise to nightfall. The piece was inspired in part by a similar childhood adventure when Strauss and a group of climbers were caught in a storm and lost during their descent. From the earliest sketches dating back to 1899 grew a vast, narratively driven score of extraordinary scope.

The Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra first performed An Alpine Symphony back in 1984, under the direction of Hans Graf, and again in 2013 with then Chief Conductor Muhai Tang. Most notably, Gabriel Feltz conducted the work at the opening of the 2017/18 season in his inaugural concert as Chief Conductor of the orchestra, a piece he traditionally performed when beginning a new tenure with an orchestra.

Tickets are available at the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra’s box office as well as online.