In its “Wisdom” series of concerts, the first of which will be held at Kolarac Hall on Friday 9 November, at 8:00 p.m. conducted by Maestro Fabrice Bollon, the Belgrade Philharmonic will conjure up the sounds of the most brilliant minds of classical music. Our guest, violinist Alina Pogostkina, will be performing with the Belgrade Philharmonic for the first time, and the program will feature works by Wagner, Vasks and Shostakovich.

Our “Wisdom” series begins, quite logically, with an example from the opus of Richard Wagner, one of the greatest musical masterminds: the “Good Friday Spell” from his opera Parsifal.

A deeply philosophical approach is a characteristic of Latvian composer Peteris Vasks. With his violin concerto “Distant Light,” the composer evokes memories from his childhood, but also the glimmering of stars millions of light-years away. Sharing the stage with the orchestra will be Alina Pogostkina, who is a former winner of the Sibelius Competition and today is an international artist with a world-famous reputation. The audience will have the rare opportunity of enjoying the sounds of her instrument – a Stradivarius Sasserno from 1717.

Crowning the evening’s concert program will be Symphony No. 9 by Dmitri Shostakovich, as an example of a politically dazzling mind. Instead of creating a megalomaniacal symphony as Stalin had expected in his desire for a Soviet “National Ninth,” Shostakovich deliberately wrote a concise and cheerful composition, which, as he once remarked, “musicians will like to play it, and critics will delight in blasting it.”

One hundred standing tickets will be on sale at the Kolarac Box Office, from 7:00 p.m. one hour before the concert.