Here is an excellent concert that defies the usual “predictable” paths and demonstrates how the boundaries of classical music are far broader than we are typically led to believe. The penultimate concert offered by the Arena Foundation for this late November included works by the Moravian composer Leoš Janáček, the Russian Alexander Glazunov, and the German Richard Strauss—a trio of remarkable composers whose output reached into the 20th century. Conducting the evening was the legendary former principal viola of the Berlin Philharmonic, Wolfram Christ (who replaced the originally scheduled Riccardo Bisatti), with saxophonist Gaetano Di Bacco as soloist.

The concert opened with the rare Suite op. 3 for string orchestra by Janáček, a piece of reflective lyricism, at times driven to the limits of fervour, and aptly described by its alternate title Serenade for its polished and vibrant orchestration. Christ’s interpretation exquisitely conveyed Janáček’s protean sound world, balancing its tensions and airy moments with precision. With analytical intelligence, the German conductor handled the composer’s fragmented and irregular orchestral writing—full of dynamic surges and emotional flashes—while maintaining its vital energy without ever burdening the flow.

Next came Glazunov’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone, the final concerto he composed in June 1934. With a free, rhapsodic character, the work strikes a perfect balance between melancholy and brilliance, with the string-only orchestra playing a mostly secondary role. Glazunov clearly displays his mastery of saxophone technique—he would also write a chamber work for four saxophones during his Paris years—with frequent tempo changes, wide range, virtuosic runs, and glissandi that pose technical challenges for the performer, especially during the increasingly agitated central cadenza, which leads into a finale filled with relatively conventional figures.

This unique score, blending virtuosity and lyricism into just fifteen minutes, was interpreted with great refinement by Di Bacco, who delivered a fully realized performance in both timbral precision and expressive nuance, demonstrating his mastery of rhythmic articulation and subtle coloration. The audience greeted him with a standing ovation, rewarded with an encore: the third Capriccio by Catalan composer David Salleras—a demanding piece that further enriched the performance.

The concert concluded with Strauss’s Metamorphosen, a study for twenty-three solo strings. This late masterpiece marks a stylistic turn in Strauss’s career as an octogenarian, in which he relinquished the full orchestral palette in favour of extreme expressivity and intimate restraint. The unusual ensemble is used to generate a deeply emotional and complex polyphonic texture, where colour and dynamic gestures never disrupt the formal progression.

The work is based on the continuous transformation (metamorphoses) of two eight-measure themes, the second drawn from the Funeral March of Beethoven’s Eroica. Rather than a typical variation set, Strauss weaves a rich polyphonic dialogue that subjects the material to melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic distortions—producing one of his most structurally sophisticated compositions beneath its introspective surface.

Anticipating the farewell of his Four Last Songs, Strauss seems here to compose an epitaph for himself, reaching a serenity tinged with nostalgia. The form is essentially an Adagio, with a faster central section. The strings of the Arena Foundation Orchestra, led by the visibly moved concertmaster Peter Szanto (saluted warmly by colleagues and audience ahead of his retirement), delivered a performance of remarkable tonal blend and expressive intensity—despite the brisk tempo set by Christ in the central section. A vivid success, crowned by four curtain calls for the conductor.

By Gianni Schicchi