Concert Nikolai Lugansky piano recital World famous Mariinsky Ballet and Opera Theatre - Opera and Concert Hall
Schedule for Nikolai Lugansky piano recital 2022
Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach Composer: Sergey Rachmaninov Composer: Claude Debussy Composer: Enrique Granados Piano: Nikolai Lugansky Composer: Isaac Albeniz
Orchestra: Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra
Programme: Isaac Albeniz. Iberia. Cycle of
twelve pieces for piano Enrique Granados.
Goyescas. Cycle of six pieces for piano Claude
Debussy. La Suite bergamasque Johann
Sebastian Bach – Sergei Rachmaninoff. Prelude, gavotte and jig from the
Suite in E Major for solo violin Sergei Prokofiev. Sonata
No 4 Sergei Rachmaninoff. Eight Etudes-Tableaux
Iberia is a suite for piano composed by
Isaac Albeniz towards the end of his life (between 1905
and 1909), and to a great extent it sums up the results of his
creative achievements. It consists of four books, each of which consists of
three pieces. The cycle is rarely performed in full as in its entirety it
lasts roughly one and a half hours. This is one of Albйniz’ most famous
works, his unsurpassed masterpiece which was highly rated by Claude Debussy and
Olivier Messiaen who noted that “Albeniz’ Iberia was a miracle of
the piano; possibly it is the best of his brilliant works for
the king of instruments – the piano”. Stylistically, Iberia
borders on impressionism, in particular in the sections that conjure
up musical images of Spain. In different sections of the suite one can hear
echoes of dances and songs from various towns and regions of the country,
national customs and traditions and so on, and one can “see” scenes of folk
life. From a technical point of view, this is one of the most complex
pieces in the piano repertoire which demands outstanding virtuosity, power
and versatility from the performer. Evocacion (Book I) is,
to an extent, a nostalgic scene of his native land written in
a colourful spirit (Albeniz spent the last fifteen years of his life
in Paris), which combines elements of the southern Spanish fandango and
the Aragon jota from northern Spain. Triana (Book II) is
a piece in the Spanish gypsy style which was named after
the gypsy quarter in Seville. Lavapies (Book III) is yet another
“evocation”, named after one of the districts of Madrid.
Goyescas (1907–1911) are two piano suites by
Enrique Granados (each consisting of three pieces) that were inspired, as
the name would suggest, by the great artist Francisco Goya. But
although the title of the first book – Los majos
enamorados – allows us to identify certain specific associations,
albeit with the famous picture Los majos en el balcon, we
should not seek a musical embodiment of any specific paintings. Rather it
is possible to speak of the picturesque nature, or even the subject
quality, in the music of the suite which gives us the possibility
of fully comprehending various “stage” images and situations,
the composer’s desire to embody a generalised musical image of Spain
and also his wish to create a “musical tribute” to Goya. “In
Goyescas I would like to add an individual note, a mixture of
passion and grace, I would like neither of these two emotions to dominate
the other in the atmosphere of refined
poetry. The significance of the melody and rhythm is great, and
these often immerse one fully in the music. The rhythm, colours and
life are purely Spanish, the shades of emotion so loving and passionate, so
dramatic and tragic, as they are in all of Goya’s works,” the composer
wrote of his cycle. Goyescas having seen Goya’s paintings at
the Prado in Madrid. The first was performed in 1911 in Barcelona,
then in Paris and the complete cycle in 1913 in Madrid. The suite
proved a tremendous success, to a large extent because of
the poetic feel of the music, the melodic richness and
the brilliant Liszt-like style of piano composition embodied in it –
albeit with amendments to take account of the specific nature of Spanish
music and the composer’s individuality. And Granados goes beyond
the limits of pure virtuosity; the performer must, first and foremost,
embrace the inner essence of this music and the depth of its unique
and magistic world. Maja y el ruisenor (Book I) is one of Granados’
most popular works and one of the most lyrical highpoints of
Goyescas. The piece draws us with its melodic charm and
the contrast of passionately dreamy and sad emotion that is typical of
the folklore of Spain and of Andalusia in particular.
El pelele (“The Straw Doll”, Fandango, Book II) combines
elements of Spanish folklore and romantic, virtuoso dance and piano style
(similar to Chopin’s polonaises), ingeniously interpreted by the composer
in the early 20th century.
Claude Debussy’s Suite bergamasque (1890–1905) is
one of the great French composer’s most popular works for piano.
The suite has four parts: Prelude, Minuet, Clair de lune and
Passepied. Written in the early 1890s, this work was only published fifteen
years later, and the composer moreover made significant amendments to
certain sections and changed the title of at least two parts: Promenade
sentimentale became Claire de lune, and the Pavane became
a Passepied. Debussy, who invented and original and innovative piano
style, very often found inspiration in the genres, forms and technical
methods of early music (in this cycle it is the Prelude, Minuet and
Passepied). The revival of early genres was one of the most important
features of Debussy’s music, as it was with another brilliant impressionist,
Maurice Ravel. In this sense, the Suite bergamasque may be called
one of the precursors of neoclassicism in the first half of
the 20th century. The Prelude is a piece that is
powerful in character, restrained in the baroque fashion typical for
the genre. It is full of dynamic contrasts, in particular
the energetic outer sections. The Minuet is to a large extent
a unique miniature that is far from the traditional minuet: instead of
the gallantness, refinement and elegance of an early court dance there is
rough merriment in a folk spirit. The joking main theme contrasts with
the mysterious and dramatic middle section. Clair de lune
id the lyrical heart of the suite, as well as being its most
famous section, named after a poem by Paul Verlaine – one of Debussy’s
favourite poets. Regardless of all its originality, this thematic piece is close
to the previous two sections. The Passepied is the suite’s finale
which is written in the genre of an early British dance and which in part
returns to the style of the Prelude at the start of
the cycle.
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No 4 in
C Minor (Op. 29, 1917, in three parts) has the secondary
title From Old Books. The first sketches for this work date to
1908 (at that time it was Sonata No 5). The Fourth Sonata is
imbued with a devotion to classicism, and Beethoven’s influence may be seen
on several occasions. This is, undoubtedly, not by chance: it should be
remembered that in 1917 Prokofiev wrote his Classical Symphony,
modelled on Haydn’s symphonies. Most of all it is the general concept of
the work, which may generally be defined as a movement “from darkness
to light”, that refers back to Beethoven. The “Beethoven” C Minor also
plays its role, being the main tone of the work. The first section
is restrained in the mood of bleak contemplation, and in conveys mournful
emotions, I particular the main theme (the Sonata is dedicated to
the memory of Sergei Prokofiev’s friend Maximilian Schmidthof).
The music is completely bereft of superficial effect, often typical for
the young Prokofiev. The second section is a revised Andante of
his earlier Symphony in E Minor, written in 1908. It is based on an expressive
and tender song melody that embodies poetical and contemplative images and
lyrical dreams. The Sonata’s finale, “just like a blinding ray of
sunlight, like a powerful gust of wind” (I. I. Martynov), bursts
into the restrained and lyrical imagistic world of the previous
sections. Throughout the entire finale there is a triumphant,
life-confirming mood, pathos of creation and, possibly, a presentiment of
the “birth of a new world”. In the music this is expressed in
the expansive themes, the vivid passages and other bold piano
techniques that Prokofiev avoided in the previous sections, as well as
the “sunny” tone in C Major of the third section.
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff arranged Fritz Kreisler’s
Liebesleid and Liebesfreude
in the 1920s (1921 and 1925 respectively), when there was a lengthy
interruption in his art due to his departure from Russia as an йmigrй.
The composer turned to the genre of transcription at this time,
producing piano arrangements of his own romance Marguerites, Schubert’s
song Wohin? from the cycle Die Schцne Mullerin,
Johann Sebastian Bach’s Prelude, Gavotte and Jig from the Partita in E
Major for violin solo, a Scherzo from music by Mendelssohn for
Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a Minuet from
Bizet’s L’Arlйsienne and a Hopak from Musorgsky’s opera
Sorochintsy Fair among other works. Turning to Kreisler’s popular
pieces, Rachmaninoff added a strong, virtuoso concert-style and improvised
feeling to their melodic charm. Ever since, with Rachmaninoff’s “lightness of
hand”, these pieces have held a key position in the piano repertoire.
Schedule for Nikolai Lugansky piano recital 2022
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