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The genesis of Brahms’ First Piano Concerto proved to be an arduous affair. Originally Brahms wanted to write a sonata for two pianos, and then a symphony, until the work finally became what it is today: a classic of its genre – and a masterpiece of the concerto literature. For keyboard virtuoso Kirill Gerstein, it is an “incredibly noble, introspective piece with wonderfully lyrical motifs that subtly lie beneath the surface like watermarks.” It was a defining work for Brahms, who was 25 years old at the time. Conductor Iván Fischer juxtaposes it with Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony: a work that enabled Dvořák to finally step out of the shadow of his friend and patron Brahms, and probably one of his most famous and most popular due to its lively cheerfulness, easy-going optimism, and unbroken joie de vivre.
The genesis of Brahms’ First Piano Concerto proved to be an arduous affair. Originally Brahms wanted to write a sonata for two pianos, and then a symphony, until the work finally became what it is today: a classic of its genre – and a masterpiece of the concerto literature. For keyboard virtuoso Kirill Gerstein, it is an “incredibly noble, introspective piece with wonderfully lyrical motifs that subtly lie beneath the surface like watermarks.” It was a defining work for Brahms, who was 25 years old at the time. Conductor Iván Fischer juxtaposes it with Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony: a work that enabled Dvořák to finally step out of the shadow of his friend and patron Brahms, and probably one of his most famous and most popular due to its lively cheerfulness, easy-going optimism, and unbroken joie de vivre.
Today, they are usually heard separately. However, there is much to suggest that Mozart’s last three symphonies form an inner unity, a triad, a world of their own. The number 3 possesses symbolic significance and appears numerous times, for example in the three repeated chords at the beginning and end of the Jupiter Symphony. Particular pitch patterns create coherence. And the fact that the symphonies can be regarded as a self-contained, interrelated triptych is also due to their diversity. Each has its own sound world (with a different set of wind instruments), possesses a distinctive expressive range, and is based on unique musical archetypes. With the last three symphonies, Sir Simon Rattle continues his BRSO Mozart cycle, which began with Idomeneo and is far from over.
Today, they are usually heard separately. However, there is much to suggest that Mozart’s last three symphonies form an inner unity, a triad, a world of their own. The number 3 possesses symbolic significance and appears numerous times, for example in the three repeated chords at the beginning and end of the Jupiter Symphony. Particular pitch patterns create coherence. And the fact that the symphonies can be regarded as a self-contained, interrelated triptych is also due to their diversity. Each has its own sound world (with a different set of wind instruments), possesses a distinctive expressive range, and is based on unique musical archetypes. With the last three symphonies, Sir Simon Rattle continues his BRSO Mozart cycle, which began with Idomeneo and is far from over.
“All good music must have a sense of direction,” Marek Janowski once said. This is what he considers “the most important guiding principle for all composers.” The composer who posed the greatest challenge throughout Janowski’s life was Beethoven. The maestro initially navigates a classical terrain in Beethoven’s First Symphony, while Bruckner’s Third Symphony contains harmonic disturbances and jarring rhythms, as well as quotes from Wagner. In the opening, marked “Misterioso,” the distinctive trumpet theme emerges from the gently undulating strings. The work’s originality certainly comes to the fore in the finale, when a polka (played by the strings) is boldly layered over a chorale (played by the winds). This demands restrained ecstasy from the musicians of the BRSO – and the experienced Beethoven and Bruckner interpreter Janowski provides the best guidance.
“All good music must have a sense of direction,” Marek Janowski once said. This is what he considers “the most important guiding principle for all composers.” The composer who posed the greatest challenge throughout Janowski’s life was Beethoven. The maestro initially navigates a classical terrain in Beethoven’s First Symphony, while Bruckner’s Third Symphony contains harmonic disturbances and jarring rhythms, as well as quotes from Wagner. In the opening, marked “Misterioso,” the distinctive trumpet theme emerges from the gently undulating strings. The work’s originality certainly comes to the fore in the finale, when a polka (played by the strings) is boldly layered over a chorale (played by the winds). This demands restrained ecstasy from the musicians of the BRSO – and the experienced Beethoven and Bruckner interpreter Janowski provides the best guidance.
Beatrice Rana comes from a family of pianists. There were five grand pianos in her parents’ house in Copertino in southern Italy, so fortunately she never had to fight for a place at the piano when she wanted to practice. She preferred to play on her mother’s grand piano, which she broke at the age of 16… Rana is known and loved internationally as well as by the BRSO audiences for her electrifying playing, and she will have the opportunity to show off her magnificent skills in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Equally celebrated is the Milanese conductor Gianandrea Noseda, especially for his Shostakovich recordings. Having been planned since the pandemic, one can look forward to the concert’s final work, Shostakovich’s Sixth Symphony: contemplative in the first movement, it becomes progressively manic during the course of the second and third movements.
Beatrice Rana comes from a family of pianists. There were five grand pianos in her parents’ house in Copertino in southern Italy, so fortunately she never had to fight for a place at the piano when she wanted to practice. She preferred to play on her mother’s grand piano, which she broke at the age of 16… Rana is known and loved internationally as well as by the BRSO audiences for her electrifying playing, and she will have the opportunity to show off her magnificent skills in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Equally celebrated is the Milanese conductor Gianandrea Noseda, especially for his Shostakovich recordings. Having been planned since the pandemic, one can look forward to the concert’s final work, Shostakovich’s Sixth Symphony: contemplative in the first movement, it becomes progressively manic during the course of the second and third movements.
Beatrice Rana comes from a family of pianists. There were five grand pianos in her parents’ house in Copertino in southern Italy, so fortunately she never had to fight for a place at the piano when she wanted to practice. She preferred to play on her mother’s grand piano, which she broke at the age of 16… Rana is known and loved internationally as well as by the BRSO audiences for her electrifying playing, and she will have the opportunity to show off her magnificent skills in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Equally celebrated is the Milanese conductor Gianandrea Noseda, especially for his Shostakovich recordings. Having been planned since the pandemic, one can look forward to the concert’s final work, Shostakovich’s Sixth Symphony: contemplative in the first movement, it becomes progressively manic during the course of the second and third movements.
“I only program music I love, because otherwise what’s the point?” Fleur Barron recently told The Times, which praised the Singaporean-British mezzo-soprano as “a knockout performer.” The young, exciting, and passionate singer (whose mentor, incidentally, is Barbara Hannigan) will make her debut with the BRSO in Mahler’s Lied von der Erde. She will be joined by tenor Andrew Staples, who has performed many times with the BRSO, as well as guest conductor Daniel Harding. Mendelssohn’s Fifth Symphony – written in honor of Martin Luther – has not been performed by the BRSO in a long time. The composer would have actually liked to burn the work, whose first movement he described as a “fat, bristly animal.” Fortunately, his intention was never realized.
“I only program music I love, because otherwise what’s the point?” Fleur Barron recently told The Times, which praised the Singaporean-British mezzo-soprano as “a knockout performer.” The young, exciting, and passionate singer (whose mentor, incidentally, is Barbara Hannigan) will make her debut with the BRSO in Mahler’s Lied von der Erde. She will be joined by tenor Andrew Staples, who has performed many times with the BRSO, as well as guest conductor Daniel Harding. Mendelssohn’s Fifth Symphony – written in honor of Martin Luther – has not been performed by the BRSO in a long time. The composer would have actually liked to burn the work, whose first movement he described as a “fat, bristly animal.” Fortunately, his intention was never realized.
The Bayerisches Landesjugendorchester will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2025. What better way to celebrate than with a concert? Together with their protégés, the BRSO invites you to an entertaining evening in Munich’s Werksviertel-Mitte. After a short appetizer, the programme will feature a work by the young composer Johannes Wiedenhofer as well as Dmitri Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony op. 110a. While the entire BLJO usually performs together with members of the BRSO under chief or guest conductors – most recently in January 2024 under Sir Simon Rattle – the BRSO musicians will now also be sharing their chamber music expertise.
Composer Fanny Hensel's work was long overshadowed by her famous brother Felix Mendelssohn, receiving proper recognition far too late. Robert Schumann's violin concerto suffered a similar fate, deemed a failed attempt and shelved by performers, with its release forbidden for 100 years. Today it's in the repertoire, and Brahms's Symphony No. 1 will form an impressive closing piece for the evening.
Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor belongs to one of the programmes that have been consistently rescheduled due to the pandemic; fortunately, it can finally take place as it had originally been planned in the spring of 2020 with Paul Lewis as the soloist. The work is an unabashedly Romantic piece in which the young composer portrays the bright, expansive, and playful colors of his homeland in an almost impressionistic way. As one of the most sophisticated pianists of his generation, Britain’s Paul Lewis will render this musical portrait with consummate skill. In conductor Manfred Honeck’s conception, Schulhoff’s Five Pieces for String Quartet will be brought to life with a more expressive, or, to be precise, more Dadaist character: rhythmically concise, ecstatically pulsating – a playful new territory for the BRSO musicians. And, indeed, every concert that includes the Eroica is bound to be one of the highlights of an orchestral season.
Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor belongs to one of the programmes that have been consistently rescheduled due to the pandemic; fortunately, it can finally take place as it had originally been planned in the spring of 2020 with Paul Lewis as the soloist. The work is an unabashedly Romantic piece in which the young composer portrays the bright, expansive, and playful colors of his homeland in an almost impressionistic way. As one of the most sophisticated pianists of his generation, Britain’s Paul Lewis will render this musical portrait with consummate skill. In conductor Manfred Honeck’s conception, Schulhoff’s Five Pieces for String Quartet will be brought to life with a more expressive, or, to be precise, more Dadaist character: rhythmically concise, ecstatically pulsating – a playful new territory for the BRSO musicians. And, indeed, every concert that includes the Eroica is bound to be one of the highlights of an orchestral season.
In the hopes that in April spring will already be bursting out of the ground, the sky, and people’s hearts, this concert could not begin more fittingly than with Lili Boulanger’s D’un matin de printemps, a sonic representation of springtime. It is an entertaining and wonderfully orchestrated piece that is definitely worth listening to. Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto is a more familiar work, and has found one of its most sympathetic advocates in Vadim Gluzman; indeed, this work has become second nature to him. Additionally, Gluzman has had a long-standing collaboration with conductor Tugan Sokhiev (as well as with BRSO concertmaster Anton Barakhovsky). Chausson’s Symphony in B flat major, a pinnacle of French symphonic music, will round off the programme.
In the hopes that in April spring will already be bursting out of the ground, the sky, and people’s hearts, this concert could not begin more fittingly than with Lili Boulanger’s D’un matin de printemps, a sonic representation of springtime. It is an entertaining and wonderfully orchestrated piece that is definitely worth listening to. Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto is a more familiar work, and has found one of its most sympathetic advocates in Vadim Gluzman; indeed, this work has become second nature to him. Additionally, Gluzman has had a long-standing collaboration with conductor Tugan Sokhiev (as well as with BRSO concertmaster Anton Barakhovsky). Chausson’s Symphony in B flat major, a pinnacle of French symphonic music, will round off the programme.
