LO SPETTACOLO

The Russian National Orchestra and its conductor return to Dijon, accompanied this time by the pianist Nikolai Luganski in a programme devoted entirely to Russian music, where their tonal colours are irreplaceable.

Rachmaninov composed his piano concertos around his extraordinary abilities at the instrument, making them particularly demanding for the performer. Few would argue that they represent the apogee of the Romantic concerto, and it is to these works essentially that the composer owes his place in posterity. The Third, the “Rach 3” as it is often called, is one of the most perilous works in the repertoire. Rachmaninov himself, on his way across the Atlantic by boat to premiere the concerto in New York in 1909, had to rehearse on a “silent piano”, a fake keyboard that allowed him to prepare his fingers for the extreme agility that the work demands. The scores opens with an initial theme whose simple melodic flow echoes old Russian religious song and is often considered the hallmark of the composer.

A student of Rimsky-Korsakov, Glazunov is the typical representative of a generation that sought to align itself with the Westernism of Tchaikovsky and the nationalism of the Group of Five. The richness of his orchestral palette and his exceptional craft made him a pre-eminent symphonic composer. His Sixth Symphony, like that of Tchaikovsky which it resembles in many places, is dominated by a tragic atmosphere that slowly but surely finds its resolution in optimistic affirmation.

Last update 2012 Editorial Team Classictic.com

"Classictic è il legame vitale tra coloro che hanno bisogno di promuovere i loro concerti e festival, e coloro che vogliono un modo semplice per scoprire e prenotare i biglietti per i concerti di musica classica.", Classical Music Now, Luglio 2010

"È entusiasmante vedere un team di appassionati di musica che cerca di offrire un servizio che è al tempo stesso di portata internazionale ma accessibile e adeguato alle esigenze di ogni cliente." Muso Magazine, Luglio 2010