ConcertPulse
LSO Chamber Ensemble
Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Milton Court (London)
Fanfares, massed cellos and electronics – a fascinating celebration of the music of Pierre Boulez, in his centenary year.
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Fanfares, massed cellos and electronics – a fascinating celebration of the music of Pierre Boulez, in his centenary year.
Celebrating Pierre Boulez and his influences, in the composer’s centenary year: his beloved Debussy, alongside three intriguing world premieres.
Maxime Pascal, photo: Nieto ‘Awakening of cheerful feelings on arrival in the countryside’ – that is the title of the first movement (Allegro non troppo) of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony. As we learn from letters he sent to the publisher Breitkopf & Härtel in 1808, the composer had serious doubts about whether the individual movements of the work should be given names containing such unambiguous pictorial suggestions. In the end, he not only retained them, but found it necessary to include next to the work’s title Pastoral Symphony, or Recollection of Life in the Countryside a caveat in brackets: An expression of feelings rather than painting. The composer’s joy and affirmative attitude to nature – the rustling of leaves, the murmur of streams, the singing of birds, the thunder, lightning and rain all translated into sound in this programmatic work – still leave no one indifferent today, delighting listeners with the deep connection to nature. André Gide’s poetic play Perséphone, written in the spirit of French Parnassianism, is based on a theme taken from Homer’s Hymn to Demeter. The Nobel Prize-winning text caught the attention of the famous dancer Ida Rubinstein, who asked Igor Stravinsky to write music to it. Out of the planned ‘symphonic ballet’ arose a genre combining dance, mime, singing and recitation in an orchestral setting. It was premiered without much fanfare on the stage of the Paris Opera on 30 April 1934. Many years later, Stravinsky's melodrama attracted the interest of many choreographers, including Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Janine Charrat, Martha Graham, and in 2012 Peter Sellars directed this production at the Teatro Real in Madrid. Today, this work is not infrequently performed in a concert version, which the Warsaw Philharmonic ensembles, with renowned artists and the Artos children’s choir, will present on our stage for the first time. Judith Chemla will perform the part of Persephone in Stravinsky's piece, replacing Marina Hands.
Maxime Pascal, photo: Nieto ‘Awakening of cheerful feelings on arrival in the countryside’ – that is the title of the first movement (Allegro non troppo) of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony. As we learn from letters he sent to the publisher Breitkopf & Härtel in 1808, the composer had serious doubts about whether the individual movements of the work should be given names containing such unambiguous pictorial suggestions. In the end, he not only retained them, but found it necessary to include next to the work’s title Pastoral Symphony, or Recollection of Life in the Countryside a caveat in brackets: An expression of feelings rather than painting. The composer’s joy and affirmative attitude to nature – the rustling of leaves, the murmur of streams, the singing of birds, the thunder, lightning and rain all translated into sound in this programmatic work – still leave no one indifferent today, delighting listeners with the deep connection to nature. André Gide’s poetic play Perséphone, written in the spirit of French Parnassianism, is based on a theme taken from Homer’s Hymn to Demeter. The Nobel Prize-winning text caught the attention of the famous dancer Ida Rubinstein, who asked Igor Stravinsky to write music to it. Out of the planned ‘symphonic ballet’ arose a genre combining dance, mime, singing and recitation in an orchestral setting. It was premiered without much fanfare on the stage of the Paris Opera on 30 April 1934. Many years later, Stravinsky's melodrama attracted the interest of many choreographers, including Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Janine Charrat, Martha Graham, and in 2012 Peter Sellars directed this production at the Teatro Real in Madrid. Today, this work is not infrequently performed in a concert version, which the Warsaw Philharmonic ensembles, with renowned artists and the Artos children’s choir, will present on our stage for the first time. Judith Chemla will perform the part of Persephone in Stravinsky's piece, replacing Marina Hands.
Mit einem Programm rund um Sofia Gubaidulinas mystisches kompositorisches Schaffen gastiert das hr-Sinfonieorchester im Anschluss an das Frankfurter Konzert auch in der Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. Der Glaube ist das zentrale Thema im Leben und in der Musik Gubaidulinas, die sich 1970 russisch-orthodox taufen ließ. Ihre Verbundenheit mit dem göttlichen Kosmos prägt ihr gesamtes Schaffen und offenbart sich in zahlreichen religiös inspirierten Werktiteln. So auch in »Der Zorn Gottes«, ihrem erst 2022 uraufgeführten »grandios apokalyptischen Orchesterwerk« (Süddeutsche Zeitung). Zuvor widmet sich die lettische Violinistin Baiba Skride Gubaidulinas 3. Violinkonzert »Dialog: Ich und Du«, das vom gleichnamigen Buch Martin Bubers aus dem Jahr 1923 inspiriert wurde. Unter der Leitung des Franzosen Maxime Pascal treten die beiden Kompositionen Gubaidulinas dabei in Beziehung zu Olivier Messiaens leuchtendem Orchesterwerk »L’Ascension« über die Himmelfahrt Christi und zur kompositorischen Strenge der Sinfonie in drei Sätzen von Igor Strawinsky.
Von Liebe und Erleuchtung kündet dieses Forum N des hr-Sinfonieorchesters Frankfurt rund um die große »Mystikerin« der musikalischen Avantgarde Sofia Gubaidulina, aber auch von Düsternis und Hass. Der Glaube ist das zentrale Thema im Leben und in der Musik Gubaidulinas, die sich 1970 russisch-orthodox taufen ließ. Ihre Verbundenheit mit dem göttlichen Kosmos prägt ihr gesamtes Schaffen und offenbart sich in zahlreichen religiös inspirierten Werktiteln. So auch in »Der Zorn Gottes«, ihrem 2020 uraufgeführten »grandios apokalyptischen Orchesterwerk« (Süddeutsche Zeitung), in dem sich Gubaidulina mit dem Thema des Jüngsten Gerichts auf ein immer wieder auftauchendes Motiv der Bibel bezieht und dieses klanggewaltig in Szene setzt. Zuvor widmet sich die lettische Violinistin Baiba Skride Gubaidulinas 3. Violinkonzert »Dialog: Ich und Du«, das vom gleichnamigen Buch Martin Bubers aus dem Jahr 1923 inspiriert wurde. Unter der Leitung des Franzosen Maxime Pascal treten die beiden Kompositionen Gubaidulinas dabei in Beziehung zu Olivier Messiaens leuchtendem Orchesterwerk »L’Ascension« über die Himmelfahrt Christi und zur kompositorischen Strenge der Sinfonie in drei Sätzen von Igor Strawinsky.Hinweis:Das ursprünglich vorgesehene Oratorium »Über Liebe und Hass« von Sofia Gubaidulina musste leider entfallen.Konzertdauer: ca. 120 Minuten – inklusive Pause