RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra - Kromatika 8

Solist: Claire Huangci, piano

Program: 
Maurice Ravel, Pavane pour une infante défunte, M. 19
Piano Concerto in G major, M. 83
*
Igor Stravinsky, Petrushka
 

In addition to being a cosmopolitan figure open to a wide variety of influences, Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) had a very special sense of humour and a unique view of his own creativity and of art in general. With Pavane pour une infante défunte, a piano work written in 1899 and orchestrated in 1910, he wanted to evoke the mood of a slow court dance, “like a young princess would dance at a Spanish court”. The Pavane represents one of the highlights of Ravel’s sophisticated oeuvre, which is full of elegance and intimate narrative. Some of his works were also strongly influenced by jazz, which Ravel heard during his concert tour of the United States. Shortly afterwards, he composed the Piano Concerto in G major, his “Jazz Concerto”, which was first performed in 1932. At the present concert, the solo part will be performed by the young American pianist and winner of the 2018 Géza Anda Competition Claire Huangci, who has performed at venues such as New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Gewandhaus in Leipzig and the Elbe Philharmonic.

One of the most influential composers of the twentieth century, Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) changed his musical language several times throughout his life. With his new musical language he made significant contributions to the picturesque late Romantic music of the Russian tradition of his mentors and role models (Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky and Glazunov), while in the period before the First World War he created mainly ballet music. Several works from this creative period of the Russian artist, who lived most of his life in France and the United States, have survived on the concert stages to this day, including the ballet Petrushka. At its premiere performance in Paris in 1911, the famous ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky appeared in the title role. The production was one of the most famous works in the repertoire of the Russian Ballet under the direction of the legendary choreographer Sergei Diaghilev.