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Angela Hewitt, photo: Keith Saunders A perfectionist with an impressive memory, Angela Hewitt boasts a wide-ranging repertoire that includes works from various eras (from the Couperins to contemporary pieces specially composed for her), but her name is mainly associated with the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. That is due to her victory in the Bach Competition in Toronto, a series of highly acclaimed recordings of Bach’s keyboard music and the award, not so long ago, of the Bach Medal in Leipzig (as the first ever female recipient). In Warsaw, she will perform one of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s most ‘symphonic’ piano concertos – the Concerto in C major, K. 503, completed one December day in 1786. The evening will begin with a piece by Louise Farrenc, an increasingly appreciated Romantic composer who from childhood received private tuition in playing and composition from the most important musicians in Paris, unable – because of her gender – to pursue regular studies in that field. Paradoxically, years later, she herself took over a piano class at the famous Paris Conservatoire. Her two striking concert overtures from 1834 showcase the dramatic and colouristic flair of a composer who unfortunately was not fated to realise her dream of writing an opera. About a century later, Sergei Rachmaninov composed his third, highly expressive Symphony, in A minor, which will bring our programme to a close. This is one of the composer’s last works and an important monument to Eastern European Romantic symphonism.
Angela Hewitt, photo: Keith Saunders A perfectionist with an impressive memory, Angela Hewitt boasts a wide-ranging repertoire that includes works from various eras (from the Couperins to contemporary pieces specially composed for her), but her name is mainly associated with the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. That is due to her victory in the Bach Competition in Toronto, a series of highly acclaimed recordings of Bach’s keyboard music and the award, not so long ago, of the Bach Medal in Leipzig (as the first ever female recipient). In Warsaw, she will perform one of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s most ‘symphonic’ piano concertos – the Concerto in C major, K. 503, completed one December day in 1786. The evening will begin with a piece by Louise Farrenc, an increasingly appreciated Romantic composer who from childhood received private tuition in playing and composition from the most important musicians in Paris, unable – because of her gender – to pursue regular studies in that field. Paradoxically, years later, she herself took over a piano class at the famous Paris Conservatoire. Her two striking concert overtures from 1834 showcase the dramatic and colouristic flair of a composer who unfortunately was not fated to realise her dream of writing an opera. About a century later, Sergei Rachmaninov composed his third, highly expressive Symphony, in A minor, which will bring our programme to a close. This is one of the composer’s last works and an important monument to Eastern European Romantic symphonism.
She’s got it, that certain something stars are made of: Anna Prohaska. Recalcitrant look, cheeky wisecracks, an avowed metal fan, yet at the same time thoughtful, deep. »I love being on stage,« she says, and she evidently finds the right tone for each and every musical style, even in operas with »rather convoluted language«. With her luminous soprano, she will rejoice in Mozart’s motet ›Exsultate, jubilate‹, taking it to soaring heights. Hallelujah!
During their lifetime, French composer Louise Farrenc and Emilie Mayer from Mecklenburg were more than just respected composers. The original sound ensemble Concerto Köln commemorates the two Romantic composers with two orchestral works. Robert Schumann's unique violin concerto completes the program. Berlioz, impressed by Farrenc's Overture No. 2, praised her highly. Mayer's Symphony No. 7 demonstrates why she was celebrated as the "female Beethoven". Schumann's Violin Concerto, though written earlier, premiered only in 1937. Concerto Köln's concertmaster, Shunske Sato, will perform as soloist.
This concert takes you on a musical voyage through the history of four female composers and one of the most underestimated female figures in opera history. It begins with Louise Farrenc – an exceptional figure of her time: as a pianist, professor, publisher, cultural manager and mother, she stands both as a pivotal figure in French music, and as an icon of creative combativeness.
