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Program

Sergei Rachmaninoffbio:
Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14

Change in program: instead of Piano Concerto No. 2, Piano Concerto No. 3 will be performed at the concert.

Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30

INTERVAL

Sergei Rachmaninoffbio:
Symphony No. 2 in E minor Op. 27

Featuring

Conductor

Soloist

Other information

The event is about 3.0 hours long.

About the event

Grandiose romance interpreted by one of the best ensembles in the world: the Budapest Festival Orchestra visits China with a Rachmaninov program. A song that is most expressive without words. A virtuoso piano concerto that is probably more “comfortable” than the previous one, only according to its composer. A symphony that finally erases an annihilating failure. Rachmaninoff's works are fascinating for the history of their creation, and while the critics of the time found them sentimental and nostalgic, we love to listen to them because they are beautiful! The orchestral version of Vocalise, a gem of the vocal repertoire, originally written for voice and piano, will open the concert, followed by Piano Concerto No. 3, performed by Anna Vinnitskaya, described by the Washington Post as "a true lioness" and by Gramophone as "an unforgettable and sparkling interplay of light and shadow". After the interval, the monumental musical triumph, Symphony No. 2, will be played.

"Why do you need words when you can express everything better and more articulately with your voice and your interpretation than anyone could with words?”, Rachmaninoff wrote to singer Antonina Nezhdanova, to whom he dedicated the last of the Op. 34 14 songs. The vocal part of Vocalise must be performed using a chosen vowel. The sustained notes and supple melodies create an almost violin-like sound. It's no wonder that many instrumental versions of the popular song have been written, with the orchestral version being created by the composer himself. This orchestration perhaps enhances the sensuality and hypnotic beauty of the piece.

Rachmaninoff, who was touring as both a pianist and as a conductor, increasingly wanted to devote himself to composing alone. However, he couldn’t say no to an American commission in 1909, for which he also composed a brand new piano concerto. Soon after its premiere, he performed it with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Gustav Mahler, as well. The first movement of the piece, also known as “Rach 3”, begins in an unusually simple manner, with a calm Russian theme, and then soaring melodies lead to the cadenza offering two versions to the soloist. The series of variations of the middle movement, traversing from melancholy to ecstasy, is broken up by a feather-light waltz before the music flows into a bright and grandiose finale intriguingly combining the material of the earlier themes.

The failure of his first symphony plunged Rachmaninoff into severe depression. He only returned to the genre after a decade, but was dissatisfied with his first drafts. He forced himself rework the piece, and in 1908, as conductor, he led the first performance in St Petersburg to success. As well as for his Piano Concerto No. 2, showing him the way out of depression, he was awarded the Glinka Prize for this piece and managed to overcome his trauma completely. The opening movement of the hour-long work begins with a slow introduction that is mysterious and brooding, and then gradually builds to a stormy passage. The themes recur as mottos in later movements. A more serene scherzo using the Dies irae melody and a slow movement containing one of the composer's most beautiful motifs follow, before a bright, richly orchestrated, triumphant finale brings the work to a close.