For his second concert conducting the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, Gustavo Dudamel presents a transatlantic repertoire, with Gabriela Ortiz and Gonzalo Grau in counterpoint to Tchaïkovsky and Ravel.
World leaders have joined forces here: exceptional pianist Yuja Wang and the acclaimed Mahler Chamber Orchestra have been »Artistic Partners« since early 2024 and as such already had their much-celebrated Elbphilharmonie prelude – »it was the pure, unrestrained, scintillating joy of playing« wrote the Hamburger Abendblatt. For their second joint concert on the Elbe, the orchestra and pianist have chosen a light-hearted programme, which celebrates the merging of classical music and jazz at the start of the 20th century with again two performances by Yuja Wang. Alexander Tsfasman can rightly be described as »Russia’s George Gershwin«. Very much as in Gershwin’s famous Rhapsody in Blue, in Tsfasman’s Jazz Suite laid-back swinging rhythms and typical jazz harmonies encounter the breakneck virtuosity of the solo piano – and a good dash of romantic melodiousness in the style of Rachmaninov. Maurice Ravel was also fascinated by jazz, which he had experienced at a concert tour in the USA. Yuja Wang is also on the piano here for Ravel’s piano concerto, which sprinkles jazz harmonies into wonderfully dreamy French impressionism. The two orchestral pieces always let the contemporary shine through, but are actually based on old musical forms: in his »Tombeau de Couperin«, Ravel gives a nod to baroque dances and styles for a suite and Stravinsky considered concerti grossi such as J.S. Bach wrote when composing his orchestral concerto. The instruments emerge in groups or even individually as a solo – the speciality of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, which sees itself as a unique collective characterised by chamber music.
The Concertgebouw’s famous Main Hall is one of the best concert halls in the world, well-known for its exceptional acoustics and special atmosphere. In the Main Hall, you will feel history. Here, Gustav Mahler conducted his own compositions, as did Richard Strauss and Igor Stravinsky. Sergei Rachmaninoff played his own piano concertos in the Main Hall. This is also where musicians such as Leonard Bernstein, Vladimir Horowitz and Yehudi Menuhin gave legendary performances. Right up to now, the Main Hall offers a stage to the world’s best orchestras and musicians. Buy your tickets now and experience the magic of the Main Hall for yourself!
It would be hard to imagine a more contrasting pair: On the one hand, Víkingur Ólafsson – a rather introverted artist, reserved in demeanour, richly nuanced in his playing. On the other, Yuja Wang, whose demeanour is almost as spectacular as her sensational pianistic skills. What they both have in common: They are unimpressed by the opinions of others. And they are damn good. In this ProArte concert, the Chinese power woman and the Icelandic sound conjuror now unleash a veritable firework display of pianism. The backbone of their concert is formed by Franz Schubert’s F-minor Fantasy and Sergei Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances (originally: Fantastic Dances) – late works by the two composers that are almost like a life review. With short works by contemporary composers such as John Adams and Arvo Pärt, Wang and Ólafsson embed these two major works in an appealing new musical context.
Maurice Ravel’s ecstatic, sonorous Boléro under the night sky of Berlin – the Berliner Philharmoniker and Kirill Petrenko could hardly have chosen a more atmospheric work to end the season at the Waldbühne. But first, star pianist Yuja Wang will be the soloist in Prokofiev’s sparkling, virtuosic irst Piano Concerto – a work in which the musician can show off her remarkable technical skills and her creative power to best advantage. Ravel’s Suite No. 2, from the shimmering and impressionistic ballet Daphnis et Chloé, also transports the listener to a pastoral idyll from ancient mythology.
Yuja Wang is known for the dazzling fireworks of her pianism. At the same time, she has a formidable expressive range, and can render intimate moments as persuasively as she does passages of fervent emotion. In this recital, Yuja Wang offers listeners a selection of virtuosic piano works – with Samuel Barber’s lushly complex piano sonata, the diverse moods of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Preludes, and ballads by Frédéric Chopin, whose emotional spectrum ranges from contemplative intimacy to explosive drama.
“I have an idea for a new work, which has no programme, but which will express what we understand by zest for life or expressions of life … where one would simply say, ’This is life’.” Thus Carl Nielsen wrote of his Fourth Symphony, which he called “The Inextinguishable”. Composed between 1914 and 1916, it is considered to be a milestone in Scandinavian music, reflecting the events of the Great War with the dramatic timpani duel in the final movement. A life in harmony and the violence of nature are likewise synonymous with Desdemona and Othello in Antonín Dvořák ’s Othello Overture. Here, too, the timpani becomes a seismograph of the emotions. Between these two “life works”, conductor Antonio Pappano has placed Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1, played by Yuja Wang. This Chinese pianist will pound the keys in the highly demanding solo part while caressing the delicate hues with ingratiating elegance.
“I have an idea for a new work, which has no programme, but which will express what we understand by zest for life or expressions of life … where one would simply say, ’This is life’.” Thus Carl Nielsen wrote of his Fourth Symphony, which he called “The Inextinguishable”. Composed between 1914 and 1916, it is considered to be a milestone in Scandinavian music, reflecting the events of the Great War with the dramatic timpani duel in the final movement. A life in harmony and the violence of nature are likewise synonymous with Desdemona and Othello in Antonín Dvořák ’s Othello Overture. Here, too, the timpani becomes a seismograph of the emotions. Between these two “life works”, conductor Antonio Pappano has placed Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1, played by Yuja Wang. This Chinese pianist will pound the keys in the highly demanding solo part while caressing the delicate hues with ingratiating elegance.
“I have an idea for a new work, which has no programme, but which will express what we understand by zest for life or expressions of life … where one would simply say, ’This is life’.” Thus Carl Nielsen wrote of his Fourth Symphony, which he called “The Inextinguishable”. Composed between 1914 and 1916, it is considered to be a milestone in Scandinavian music, reflecting the events of the Great War with the dramatic timpani duel in the final movement. A life in harmony and the violence of nature are likewise synonymous with Desdemona and Othello in Antonín Dvořák ’s Othello Overture. Here, too, the timpani becomes a seismograph of the emotions. Between these two “life works”, conductor Antonio Pappano has placed Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1, played by Yuja Wang. This Chinese pianist will pound the keys in the highly demanding solo part while caressing the delicate hues with ingratiating elegance.
ConcertPulse