A Discussion with Ondrej Olos
The opening concert of the Slovak Philharmonic's 78th season brought together four composers from the four Visegrád Group countries, currently chaired by Slovakia: Kilar's Orawa, Godár's Meditation for solo violin, 48 string instruments and timpani, Janáček's Violin Concerto “Wandering of a Little Soul” with Milan Paľa, and Liszt's Symphony to Dante's Divine Comedy.
In the pre-concert talk, principal guest conductor Ondrej Olos explains how the fiddling style of Terchová found its way into Kilar's Orawa thanks to orchestra violinist František Černý, why Janáček's concerto is being heard at the Slovak Philharmonic for only the second time, and how Godár's Meditation returns in its original large scoring after almost forty years. He also talks about Liszt's journey from Hell to Paradise and about preparing works for which often not even a recording exists.
