VFO / GIANANDREA NOSEDA / MIKHAÏL PLETNEV
Program
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN (1810-1849)
Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor Op. 21 (arr. M. Pletnev)
Interval
GUSTAV MAHLER (1860-1911)
Symphony No. 6 in A minor “Tragic”
Mikhaïl Pletnev plays Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18: I. Moderato
A triumph at its premiere, Chopin’s Second Concerto is carried by a delicate lyricism supported by subtle, restrained rubato, dancing episodes reminiscent of the Waltz and the Mazurka in the Finale and, in addition, a slow movement conceived as a coded love letter to the singer Konstancja Gladkowska. Mikhail Pletnev is passionate about this repertoire and has even re-orchestrated the two concertos, so he knows this work like no one else, as it has yet to reveal all its secrets.
The first of the composer’s great symphonies, Mahler’s ‘Tragic’ Symphony is a grand affair. Impressive in its proportions (the Finale alone lasts as long as a Schumann symphony), it also uses a special hammer to represent the blows of fate, whose intensity is matched only by its symbolism. Mahler made no mistake: the year after the premiere, he was dismissed from his post at the Vienna Opera, his daughter died and he was diagnosed with heart disease. Rarely has a subtitle been carried with such intensity.
