Inspiration anxiety is theme of Seattle Symphony concert series

Taking inspiration from other artists can be tough on composers.

Think of Brahms, and his Symphony No.1. He famously took more than two decades, from first sketches in 1854 to a world premiere in 1876, to complete it.

That near-glacial progress, in large measure, had to do with the dismaying expectations of his supporters that Brahms was heir to the musical legacy of his hero, Beethoven, especially the latter’s triumph with the Ninth Symphony.

Everything about Seattle Symphony’s program next Thursday-Sunday (June 11-14) at Benaroya Hall — a concert anchored by the Brahms work — speaks to the glories, mysteries and occasional burdens of artists profoundly inspired by other artists.

Beethoven is represented in the program through his 1810 “Egmont” Overture, Op. 84, written for a revival of the 1788 play by Goethe, a writer Beethoven greatly admired.

That theme of artistic impact, of creating something new and vibrant from the product of another’s brilliance, surrounds the third piece on the bill: the U.S. premiere of British composer Julian Anderson’s ‘In Lieblicher Bläue’ for Violin and Orchestra (also called “Poem for Violin and Orchestra”).

Co-commissioned by Seattle Symphony, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, the concerto was written for violin virtuoso Carolin Widmann, who played the solo at the work’s world premiere last March in London. Widmann will be the guest artist at Benaroya, likely surprising and moving the audience with a somewhat theatrical performance Anderson wrote into the score.

Seattle Symphony music director Ludovic Morlot knew Anderson as a significant influence during his years of study.

“Julian’s music has been important to me since I studied in London [in the 1990s],” Morlot says. “He was teaching there. I was fortunate to be a student in one of his classes, so I’ve always been an admirer of his music as well as his mind. The fact that a few years later I can take part in commissioning this concerto for him is thrilling.”

“In Lieblicher Bläue” (“In Lovely Blue”) was inspired by a remarkable poem written by Germany’s Frederich Hölderlin (1770-1843), a major Romantic figure who knew Goethe and the poet Novalis. Hölderlin’s life took a tragic turn when he was diagnosed with mental illness.

“He was classified as mad, imprisoned in a very nasty institution and tortured for a year,” Anderson said by phone from London. “He was severely, psychologically damaged when he came out from the terrible things they did to him. He withdrew from society into a tower.”

Anderson encountered “In Lovely Blue” 36 years ago, at age 13.

“The poem is almost Surrealist. The images are very beautiful, direct, radiant and full of power and energy. I immediately thought of writing a piece for violin and orchestra. I made some tiny sketches, aspiring at that time to write contemporary-art music. Every so often I’d look at them and then put them away.

“Then Carolin asked me to write a concerto for her, and I agreed. I saw the commission as an opportunity to realize this vision that had haunted me for so many years. It’s a personal work and quite narrative. Hölderlin’s withdrawal from the world is mirrored in the piece. The orchestra sonically attacks the soloist. There is a tussle between them that grows more intense and escalates out of control. The soloist responds by playing a very long, lyrical melody that is the most tender music I could write for Hölderlin.”

“The piece showcases so many things that make the violin look good,” said Widmann, reached in Florence, Italy. “It has a few special effects such as pizzicatos and even the involvement of a pencil that I use instead of the bow to play. It’s a very lyrical piece that highlights the singing quality of my instrument. It inspires and thrills me.”