25'  (2022)

2.2.2.2 - 2.1 - timp, perc (1) - strings 

This Symphony was commissioned by the NeoKlasik Orchestra on the occasion of Ilja Hurník's 100th jubilee.

Programe note (performance instructions):

"The first movement, (Allegro moderato) its opening section is based on timbre. The strings first form the background to the counterpoint of the wind instruments, gradually they are added to the action. It's kind of written out aleatorics at some moments, maybe the image of a roaring sea could help...  It should be very colorful and differentiated. The Allegro assai (from No. 14) will need to be well built,  pay attention to the dynamics, there is a lot of f or ff, but it is necessary to differentiate and leave most of the power for the peaks. In number 17, a melodious theme comes in and then blends in all sorts of ways with the main theme. The reprise is brief and the movement ends with a short coda. The piano and percussion instruments play a significant role in this movement.

The second movement (Andante) is based on a melody in the strings and has a middle contrasting fast part. The movement's key moment is the reprise in No. 40, in which the first oboe's counterpoint is added to the theme in the violas (which appears in a low dynamic after the full orchestra's fortissimo surge), all veiled in a veil of delicate piano figuration in the higher octaves.

The third movement (Allegro scherzando) is the most classic, simply a scherzo with everything. This movement is very playful, its middle part is built on a melody in a "Hollywood" way. Overall a lot of rhythm, playfulness of singing. The flute plays an important role here.

The fourth movement (Allegro vivace) initially continues (with new thematic material and somewhat more fiercely of course) the playfulness of the previous movement, but at No. 89 there is a turning point and a somewhat unexpected (middle) part with completely new thematic material begins. In No. 92, the material of the opening of the 1st movement appears briefly, followed by a simple melody in brass and woodwinds. The whole composition ends with a short reprise-coda. The final note is punctuated by a whiplash."