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Who would have thought that Grieg, Tchaikovsky and Brahms lived at the same time? How did these musical giants interact? Although they created music in different styles, their encounters left a lasting impression. The first two concerts of the Russian Music Festival explore these questions.
On the 20th of October at 7:00 p.m. – “When Grieg’s wife sang for Tchaikovsky” – Lilla Horti (soprano) will sing the “role” of Nina with Gergely Kovács playing the piano.
The story goes that in 1888, Brahms, Grieg and Tchaikovsky met at a special dinner. Grieg quickly became a fan of Tchaikovsky and tried to meet him as often as possible during his stay in Leipzig. On these occasions Grieg and his wife Nina performed songs for Tchaikovsky’s enjoyment. Tchaikovsky did not consider the Norwegian composer a composer of note, but he thought him very human, which he appreciated.
The concert on the 21st of October is entitled ‘When Tchaikovsky heard Brahms rehearsing’. Contributors: Ádám Balogh (piano), Gergely Devich (cello), Csongor Korossy-Khayll (violin).
The story goes that on New Year’s Day 1888, when Tchaikovsky visited Adolph Brodsky, who was the soloist at the premiere of his violin concerto, Brahms’ Trio in C minor emerged from one of the rooms. At the piano was Brahms himself. Although Tchaikovsky was not impressed by Brahms’s music, they struck up a friendship over dinner after the rehearsal.
And at the third concert of the festival, titled Encounters – “When Everyone Went to Paris” on Tuesday the 22nd of October at 7:00 p.m. the audience can fly to Paris with music.
The story goes that after Prokofiev finishes his Third Piano Concerto in France, he travels to America to perform it. The work is not an undivided success, but it impresses audiences in Paris the following year. The Paris concert is conducted by Sergei Kusevitsky, who in the same year commissions Ravel to orchestrate Musorgsky’s piano work. Ravel later travels to America where, at a birthday party, he meets Gershwin (whose parents were Russian emigres), who plays excerpts from The Blue Rhapsody. Gershwin later travels to Paris, where he meets Ravel and Prokofiev.
The first two concerts will take place in the Liszt Hall of the University of Debrecen. Tickets are available for 500 HUF at the Klassz Pont ticket office, the Kölcsey Centre ticket office, the Tourinform office and online at kodalyfilharmonia.jegy.hu.
The third concert will take place at the Kölcsey Centre, where tickets are available for HUF 3,900 and HUF 3,100 respectively.
Date: 20-22 October
Location: Liszt Hall of the University of Debrecen and Kölcsey Center
Source:dehir.hu, kodalyfilharmonia.hu