Conductor Kristian Alexander and the Kindred Spirits Orchestra will current their subsequent live performance, titled Poems And Portraits, on Might 10. Pianist Dmitri Levkovich joins KSO to carry out Bartók’s piano concerto No. 1.
The dynamic program additionally consists of Debussy’s iconic Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, and Shostakovich, Symphony No. 7 ‘Leningrad’. Every of the items has a narrative to inform.
Pianist Dmitri Levkovich
Ukranian-born Canadian pianist and composer Dmitri Levkovich studied piano and composition with Sergei Babayan on the Curtis Institute of Music for 11 years, rising with a Bachelor of Music, Grasp of Music, and Artist Diploma.
He went on to deal with worldwide competitions, and picked up a number of prizes, together with the China Worldwide (1st and Chopin Prizes), Cleveland (2nd, Chopin and Viewers Prizes), German Piano Award (1st), Gina Bachauer (third), Jose Iturbi (1st), and the Vendôme Prize (2nd).
His a lot lauded debut recording of Rachmaninoff’s 24 Preludes garnered a nomination for the 2016 Worldwide Classical Music Award.
During the last couple of seasons, Dmitri has carried out with the Cleveland Orchestra, China Nationwide Orchestra, and Dresden Philharmonic, and on the phases of the Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Corridor, and Beijing Performing Arts Centre’s Principal Stage. Dmitri not too long ago debuted on the Ravinia Competition, and the 2nd Worldwide Mariinsky Far East Competition.
The Music
Debussy, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
One in every of Debussy’s greatest identified works, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune is a symphonic poem. Debussy was impressed by the poem of the identical identify by French Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé. Written in 1894, it has since been hailed as representing a turning level in Western artwork music from the normal to modernism.
It was premiered in Paris on December 22, 1894, with Georges Barrère performing the flute solo. Pierre Boulez wrote that, “the flute of the faun introduced new breath to the artwork of music.” The piece incorporates (six-note) whole-tone and pentatonic (five-tone) scales, and chromaticism (notes exterior the primary scale), components which at the moment are related to musical impressionism.
Bartók, Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 1, Sz. 83, BB 91
Bartók composed his Piano Concerto No. 1 in 1926. It was a part of a flurry of items he wrote for piano after a 3 yr interval throughout which he produced little or no work. His notes point out that the percussion devices ought to be positioned beside the piano. It’s a sign of the percussive nature of the work general. The work can also be characterised by syncopation, dissonant counterpoint, and tone clusters which Bartók borrowed (with permission) from piano works by composer Henry Cowell.
Bartók himself was the soloist on the premiere, which happened on the fifth Worldwide Competition of the Worldwide Society for Modern Music in Frankfurt on July 1, 1927. Wilhelm Furtwängler carried out, and critics have been largely outraged at its very fashionable sound.
Shostakovich, Symphony No. 7 in C main, Op. 60 ‘Leningrad’
Shostakovich started composing his Symphony No. 7 in Leningrad, after which accomplished it within the metropolis of Samara. It was December 1941, through the peak of the Second World Struggle, and the German Military was laying siege to Leningrad. The Symphony would later premiere in Samara on March 5, 1942.
The composer had initially devoted the work to Lenin himself, however modified it to the town of Leningrad. It was lastly carried out in that metropolis on August 9, 1942, a few yr into the siege.
The story of the way it acquired there was itself a tribute to resistance towards fascism and totalitarianism. Shostakovich had transferred the rating to microfilm in Samara, and it was delivered in secret by a torturous route that went from Tehran to Cairo to New York. There, it obtained its North American premiere with the NBC Symphony Orchestra underneath the baton of Arturo Toscanini. The efficiency was broadcast on July 19, 1942, and Time journal positioned Shostakovich on its cowl for the event.
The Live performance
The live performance features a pre-concert recital and discuss.
- 7:10 p.m. Prélude: pre-concert recital
- 7:20 p.m. Pre-concert discuss
- 8:00 p.m. Live performance begins
Discover tickets and extra particulars [HERE].
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Anya Wassenberg is a Toronto Metropolis Editor at Ludwig Van. She is an skilled freelance author, blogger and writing teacher.