ConcertPulse
The Austrian composer, conductor, and singer HK Gruber and the Russian-American pianist Kirill Gerstein combine their wonderfully free-spirited forces for a program that harks back to Berlin in the 1920s, when the First World War was over, the lights were dim, and cabaret was all the rage. Gruber (who, incidentally, is a descendant of Franz Xaver Gruber, the composer of Silent Night) is undisputedly one of the greatest living interpreters of this style. His artistic role models are Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler, whom he credits for making his career as a composer possible. As for Gerstein, he illuminates Bertolt Brecht’s infectious melodies and sometimes caustic texts with his lively, dance-like piano playing.
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.
“HIP” is not only the abbreviation for ’Historically Informed Performance,’ but above all denotes Sir Simon Rattle’s initiative to expand the BRSO repertoire with baroque music – played on period instruments. The Chief Conductor commences with three of Bach’s most beautiful cantatas. Herr, gehe nicht ins Gericht is full of poignant friction and sigh-laden progressions. Every note of Liebster Gott, wenn werd ich sterben contains a longing for death, but also the assurance of an eternal life. Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan is probably most akin to chamber music: with its sparse instrumentation and the omission of a final chorale, it occupies a unique position among Bach’s cantatas.
No hell, no Last Judgement, no wrath, no fear, no dread. Not even Jesus’ name is mentioned in this Requiem, which Brahms simply called “German.” Brahms dispenses with religious exaltation and, in a letter to Clara Schumann, refers to one of the pinnacles of his musical output as “the work of a human being.” And Brahms underlines its deeply human message through the use of words from the Sermon on the Mount in the opening measures: “Blessed are those who mourn / for they shall be comforted.” The work is intended for those seeking hope and light. While it may be a Mass for the dead, Brahms does not dedicate it to the deceased but rather to those who are left behind. Providing a fitting complement is Turnage’s Remembering, which was written after the untimely death of a musician friend’s son from cancer.
No hell, no Last Judgement, no wrath, no fear, no dread. Not even Jesus’ name is mentioned in this Requiem, which Brahms simply called “German.” Brahms dispenses with religious exaltation and, in a letter to Clara Schumann, refers to one of the pinnacles of his musical output as “the work of a human being.” And Brahms underlines its deeply human message through the use of words from the Sermon on the Mount in the opening measures: “Blessed are those who mourn / for they shall be comforted.” The work is intended for those seeking hope and light. While it may be a Mass for the dead, Brahms does not dedicate it to the deceased but rather to those who are left behind. Providing a fitting complement is Turnage’s Remembering, which was written after the untimely death of a musician friend’s son from cancer.
“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.
No other instrument has had to endure more jokes than the viola. Of course this is completely unjustified when one listens carefully to its richly warm and refined sound, which will be evident in this program of chamber music. The concert opens with nine captivating minutes in which two violas literally intertwine in George Benjamin’s Viola, Viola. The tightly woven dialogue between the two instruments unfolds with tonal depth and polyphonic, highly complex textures, assuming in places an almost orchestral quality: a surging, dance-like, ingeniously direct drama of the viola repertoire. In Beethoven’s String Quintet, the two violas create a remarkably lyrical, warm atmosphere, and in the Mendelssohn they are surprisingly captivating, full of verve and exuding optimism.
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.
