AMSO 2024 has the privilege of playing this original work composed by one of our own medical students, Ian Coyukiat. It is often quoted that music is simply “organised sound”—a curation of timbres and pitches placed in a moment in time. What is a constellation other than a curating of stars lighting an outline in the night sky? Urania's Mirror; or, a view of the Heavens is a set of illustrations depicting 79 constellations over 32 star card charts first published in 1824; Urania being the goddess of astronomy and stars in Greek mythology. In writing Urania’s Mirror, Ian wanted to explore space in different forms, from grandeur to nothingness, all with a sense of wonder. Borrowing a literary technique used in poetry, the volta or rhetorical shift, the tone poem is split into two sections—the before and after—demarcated by a solo violin cadenza. The before marks space’s natural state, whilst the after marks human’s attempts to organize and ‘curate’ it—but to what success?

The Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto is a common favourite amongst classical music fans today and is a staple of the violin repertoire. It is most well known for its lush sweeping melodies and riveting cadenzas which demand brilliant virtuosity from the soloist. Yet, its beginnings were a stark contrast to its current much-loved status. Being the only violin concerto Tchaikovsky ever wrote, it was first conceived after the composer was recovering from a shattered marriage and a near breakdown. Tchaikovsky had just completed his dark depressive Fourth Symphony when he moved to the Swiss resort town of Clarens and spent only 11 days completing the sketch for this violin concerto. However, many perils fell upon this concerto on its completion. It was greatly faulted by Tchaikovsky’s patron, the violinist who this concerto was dedicated to refused to play it as they found it was too awkward and difficult, and it received scathing reviews on its premiere describing it as “music that stinks in the ear”.

This concerto has been said to be inspired by the fresh, light and rhythmic qualities of Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, and consists of 3 movements. The 1st movement begins with a modest introduction before the soloist appears with a cadenza-like entrance and then a calmer theme is introduced. The mood gradually intensifies, building up to a majestic climax with the main theme played by the full orchestra. This is followed by a technically demanding cadenza in the violin’s highest registers, and then the orchestra and soloist race to the end in a fast-paced coda. The 2nd movement is relatively slower, featuring a simple, sweet yet melancholy cantabile melody. It brightens up a little in the middle of the movement, before fading out into the 3rd movement without a pause. The final movement has been described as distinctly Russian. It begins with a drone-like accompaniment along with a deep resonant melody in the string’s lowest registers that is reminiscent of a Trepak, a stamping Cossack dance. It is then followed by the second theme which features peasant/gypsy folk-like melodies and a more sentimental third theme. The piece concludes in a flourish with a grand virtuosic coda.

Sibelius’ 2nd symphony is his most played and recorded symphony. After a successful premiere of his tone poem Finlandia, Sibelius enjoys a relaxing holiday in a mountain villa in Rapallo Italy. Inspired by his surroundings and a story about a legendary womaniser named Don Juan, Sibelius writes down the first ideas for his 2nd symphony. Upon returning home to Finland, he completes this symphony against increasing political tensions as nationalists struggled for independence against Tsarist Russia. The symphony was premiered with great success, selling out three performances with great public admiralty. Although whether or not Sibelius intended the symphony to have any patriotic message has been debated, it was popularly dubbed as the “Symphony of Independence”.

The opening movement of the symphony seems to pay homage to Sibelius’ hero Beethoven, with a famous three note motif that runs throughout the work in many guises. The 2nd movement begins with a theme in the bassoon before stemming into a pizzicato string walking bass, seemingly depicting Don Juan and his encounter with death in the story. It then moves into a second theme that was denoted by Sibelius as “Christus” and is thought to symbolise death and resurrection of the movement, or even of Finland. The 3rd movement is angry and restless, with blistering fast figures in the strings followed by a slow trio section featuring a lyric oboe solo. The orchestra then rushes into the final movement which begins gloriously after finally reaching D major and dives into loud, heroic themes leaving the audience with optimism and triumph.