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The BRSO is looking forward to its first collaboration with the Polish conductor Krzysztof Urbański, who has been the Chief Conductor of the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana since 2022 and has served as guest conductor of renowned orchestras such as the Münchner and Berliner Philharmoniker, the Dresden Staatskapelle, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. Urbański will introduce himself to the BRSO audience with a work particularly close to his heart: Shostakovich’s existential Tenth Symphony. Immediately after Stalin’s death, Shostakovich created in this symphony a harrowing document of the suffering caused by dictatorship and terror, and at the same time a moving self-portrait. In addition, there is a reunion with Evgeny Kissin, who raised his voice against the Russian war of aggression from the very beginning. He will perform Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto, probably the most technically demanding of the composer’s four concertos.
The BRSO is looking forward to its first collaboration with the Polish conductor Krzysztof Urbański, who has been the Chief Conductor of the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana since 2022 and has served as guest conductor of renowned orchestras such as the Münchner and Berliner Philharmoniker, the Dresden Staatskapelle, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. Urbański will introduce himself to the BRSO audience with a work particularly close to his heart: Shostakovich’s existential Tenth Symphony. Immediately after Stalin’s death, Shostakovich created in this symphony a harrowing document of the suffering caused by dictatorship and terror, and at the same time a moving self-portrait. In addition, there is a reunion with Evgeny Kissin, who raised his voice against the Russian war of aggression from the very beginning. He will perform Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto, probably the most technically demanding of the composer’s four concertos.
“Rach 3”: thus the name often lovingly bestowed on Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto. Composed in 1909 for his first American tour, it has always languished somewhat in the shadow of his popular Second Piano Concerto. Yet this very fact reflects its special charisma: it is the longest of Rachmaninoff’s four concertos, is said to contain the greatest number of piano notes per second, and poses the greatest challenges to the soloist’s technique. But its virtuosity is not superficial and bombastic; time and again it is pervaded by gentle hues. The BRSO is delighted to rejoin the Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho, who stepped in for Lang Lang at a benefit concert in 2018 and has long numbered among the world’s élite.
“Rach 3”: thus the name often lovingly bestowed on Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto. Composed in 1909 for his first American tour, it has always languished somewhat in the shadow of his popular Second Piano Concerto. Yet this very fact reflects its special charisma: it is the longest of Rachmaninoff’s four concertos, is said to contain the greatest number of piano notes per second, and poses the greatest challenges to the soloist’s technique. But its virtuosity is not superficial and bombastic; time and again it is pervaded by gentle hues. The BRSO is delighted to rejoin the Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho, who stepped in for Lang Lang at a benefit concert in 2018 and has long numbered among the world’s élite.
The Russian-American pianist Kirill Gerstein will launch his BRSO residency, not with a piano concerto, but with two works for piano and orchestra that beggar comparison in their virtuosity, witty playfulness and range of expression. Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1934) and the 21-year-old Strauss’s Burlesque take listeners through a gigantic panoply of moods and sounds, from diabolical fury to saucy parody, from mighty upsurges to the most delicate of reveries. Just the right milieu for Kirill Gerstein, a straddler of musical eras, of classical music and jazz, and an artist of enormous flexibility and exploratory verve. To enrich the brew, Alan Gilbert, the principal conductor of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, will present Schoenberg’s brilliant orchestration of Brahms’s Piano Quartet in G minor. Schoenberg’s quip, that his arrangement is Brahms’s fifth symphony, is as cogent today as ever before.
The Russian-American pianist Kirill Gerstein will launch his BRSO residency, not with a piano concerto, but with two works for piano and orchestra that beggar comparison in their virtuosity, witty playfulness and range of expression. Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1934) and the 21-year-old Strauss’s Burlesque take listeners through a gigantic panoply of moods and sounds, from diabolical fury to saucy parody, from mighty upsurges to the most delicate of reveries. Just the right milieu for Kirill Gerstein, a straddler of musical eras, of classical music and jazz, and an artist of enormous flexibility and exploratory verve. To enrich the brew, Alan Gilbert, the principal conductor of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, will present Schoenberg’s brilliant orchestration of Brahms’s Piano Quartet in G minor. Schoenberg’s quip, that his arrangement is Brahms’s fifth symphony, is as cogent today as ever before.
At the tender age of five Mikko Franck (b. Helsinki, 1979) knew that he wanted to become a conductor, and by 17 he had already launched his professional career. Like many of his famous colleagues from Finland, he honed his skills with the great conducting teacher Jorma Panula. Currently he heads the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Alongside Franck, the young Franco-Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili – known for her passionate and extroverted readings – will give her BRSO début in a work thoroughly in keeping with her emotional delivery: Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto. Composed after a severe crisis, it is perhaps the most personal and rapturous of his four piano concertos. Bruckner’s Seventh is likewise associated with a personal turning point: it was with this symphony that the 60-year-old composer finally gained widespread recognition. The Seventh has retained its popularity to the present day.
At the tender age of five Mikko Franck (b. Helsinki, 1979) knew that he wanted to become a conductor, and by 17 he had already launched his professional career. Like many of his famous colleagues from Finland, he honed his skills with the great conducting teacher Jorma Panula. Currently he heads the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Alongside Franck, the young Franco-Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili – known for her passionate and extroverted readings – will give her BRSO début in a work thoroughly in keeping with her emotional delivery: Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto. Composed after a severe crisis, it is perhaps the most personal and rapturous of his four piano concertos. Bruckner’s Seventh is likewise associated with a personal turning point: it was with this symphony that the 60-year-old composer finally gained widespread recognition. The Seventh has retained its popularity to the present day.
At the tender age of five Mikko Franck (b. Helsinki, 1979) knew that he wanted to become a conductor, and by 17 he had already launched his professional career. Like many of his famous colleagues from Finland, he honed his skills with the great conducting teacher Jorma Panula. Currently he heads the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Alongside Franck, the young Franco-Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili – known for her passionate and extroverted readings – will give her BRSO début in a work thoroughly in keeping with her emotional delivery: Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto. Composed after a severe crisis, it is perhaps the most personal and rapturous of his four piano concertos. Bruckner’s Seventh is likewise associated with a personal turning point: it was with this symphony that the 60-year-old composer finally gained widespread recognition. The Seventh has retained its popularity to the present day.