Gramophone Podcast

MUSIC IN TIME OF WAR - Available now!

MUSIC IN TIME OF WAR – Release Date April 12, 2024

Spotlight Artist at LSO

“My heart is like ruined homes, Broken beams and shaken pillars….”

Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik - Quarterly Critic’s Choice

Dazzling Gershwin

Rachmaninoff No.1 in Berlin & Frankfurt

Calendar

Calendar

Show past events

April

21

Hamburg

Hamburg

NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester

Omer Meir Wellber

Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major

Omer Meir Wellber

Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major

Elbphilharmonie

Elbphilharmonie

April

Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major

27

Essen

Essen

Recital

Brad Mehldau

Works by Johannes Brahms, Gabriel Fauré, György Ligeti and Brad Mehldau

Brad Mehldau

Works by Johannes Brahms, Gabriel Fauré, György Ligeti and Brad Mehldau

UNESCO-Welterbe Zollverein – Salzlager

UNESCO-Welterbe Zollverein – Salzlager

April

Works by Johannes Brahms, Gabriel Fauré, György Ligeti and Brad Mehldau

May

2

Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota Orchestra

Thomas Søndergård

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No 1 in F sharp minor Op 1

Thomas Søndergård

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No 1 in F sharp minor Op 1

Minnesota Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra Hall

May

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No 1 in F sharp minor Op 1

3

Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota Orchestra

Thomas Søndergård

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No 1 in F sharp minor Op 1

Thomas Søndergård

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No 1 in F sharp minor Op 1

Minnesota Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra Hall

May

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No 1 in F sharp minor Op 1

10

Kalamazoo

Kalamazoo

Recital

Kalamazoo College

Kalamazoo College

May

Frédéric Chopin: Polonaise-Fantasie in A flat Major, Op. 61
Gabriel Fauré: Nocturne No. 13 in B minor, Op. 119
Francis Poulenc: Three Intermezzi (FP71/118)
Franz Liszt: Polonaise in E major, S. 223 No. 2
Intermission
Robert Schumann: Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Op. 26
Matthew Aucoin: The tracks have vanished
Leopold Godowsky: Symphonische Metamorphosen Johann
Strauss’scher Themen: No. 2 “Die Fledermaus"

18

Prague

Prague

Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Roma

Jakub Hrůša, conductor

George Gershwin: Concerto in F

Jakub Hrůša, conductor

George Gershwin: Concerto in F

Municipal House – Smetana Hall

Municipal House – Smetana Hall

May

George Gershwin: Concerto in F

19

Berlin

Berlin

Kammerakademie Potsdam

Antonello Manacorda

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.4 in G Major, Op.58

Antonello Manacorda

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.4 in G Major, Op.58

Chamber Music Hall, Philharmonie

Chamber Music Hall, Philharmonie

May

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.4 in G Major, Op.58

20

Potsdam

Potsdam

Kammerakademie Potsdam

Antonello Manacorda

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.4 in G Major, Op.58

Antonello Manacorda

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.4 in G Major, Op.58

Nikolaisaal

Nikolaisaal

May

Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.4 in G Major, Op.58

25

Baden-Baden

Baden-Baden

SWR Symphonieorchester

Teodor Currentzis

Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2 F Major Op. 102

Teodor Currentzis

Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2 F Major Op. 102

Festspielhaus Baden-Baden

Festspielhaus Baden-Baden

May

Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2 F Major Op. 102

26

Baden-Baden

Baden-Baden

SWR Symphonieorchester

Teodor Currentzis

Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2 F Major Op. 102

Teodor Currentzis

Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2 F Major Op. 102

Festspielhaus Baden-Baden

Festspielhaus Baden-Baden

May

Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2 F Major Op. 102

June

11

Melbourne

Melbourne

Recital

Melbourne Recital Centre

Melbourne Recital Centre

June

CHOPIN Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat major, Op. 61
FAURÉ Nocturne No. 13 in B minor, Op. 119
POULENC Three Intermezzi, FP71/118
LISZT Polonaise in E major, S. 223 No. 2
SCHUMANN Carnival of Vienna, Op. 26
LIZA LIM Transcendental Etude (2023)*
GODOWSKY Symphonic Metamorphoses, No.2: Die Fledermaus

*World premiere performances. Commissioned for Musica Viva Australia with funds from the Hildegard Project, championing the work of female composers

13

Canberra

Canberra

Recital

Llewellyn Hall

Llewellyn Hall

June

CHOPIN Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat major, Op. 61
FAURÉ Nocturne No. 13 in B minor, Op. 119
POULENC Three Intermezzi, FP71/118
LISZT Polonaise in E major, S. 223 No. 2
SCHUMANN Carnival of Vienna, Op. 26
LIZA LIM Transcendental Etude (2023)*
GODOWSKY Symphonic Metamorphoses, No.2: Die Fledermaus

*World premiere performances. Commissioned for Musica Viva Australia with funds from the Hildegard Project, championing the work of female composers

14

Newcastle

Newcastle

Recital

Llewellyn Hall

Llewellyn Hall

June

CHOPIN Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat major, Op. 61
FAURÉ Nocturne No. 13 in B minor, Op. 119
POULENC Three Intermezzi, FP71/118
LISZT Polonaise in E major, S. 223 No. 2
SCHUMANN Carnival of Vienna, Op. 26
LIZA LIM Transcendental Etude (2023)*
GODOWSKY Symphonic Metamorphoses, No.2: Die Fledermaus

*World premiere performances. Commissioned for Musica Viva Australia with funds from the Hildegard Project, championing the work of female composers

17

Sydney

Sydney

Recital

City Recital Hall

City Recital Hall

June

CHOPIN Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat major, Op. 61
FAURÉ Nocturne No. 13 in B minor, Op. 119
POULENC Three Intermezzi, FP71/118
LISZT Polonaise in E major, S. 223 No. 2
SCHUMANN Carnival of Vienna, Op. 26
LIZA LIM Transcendental Etude (2023)*
GODOWSKY Symphonic Metamorphoses, No.2: Die Fledermaus

*World premiere performances. Commissioned for Musica Viva Australia with funds from the Hildegard Project, championing the work of female composers

19

Brisbane

Brisbane

Recital

Concert Hall, QPAC

Concert Hall, QPAC

June

CHOPIN Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat major, Op. 61
FAURÉ Nocturne No. 13 in B minor, Op. 119
POULENC Three Intermezzi, FP71/118
LISZT Polonaise in E major, S. 223 No. 2
SCHUMANN Carnival of Vienna, Op. 26
LIZA LIM Transcendental Etude (2023)*
GODOWSKY Symphonic Metamorphoses, No.2: Die Fledermaus

*World premiere performances. Commissioned for Musica Viva Australia with funds from the Hildegard Project, championing the work of female composers

20

Adelaide

Adelaide

Recital

Adelaide Town Hall

Adelaide Town Hall

June

CHOPIN Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat major, Op. 61
FAURÉ Nocturne No. 13 in B minor, Op. 119
POULENC Three Intermezzi, FP71/118
LISZT Polonaise in E major, S. 223 No. 2
SCHUMANN Carnival of Vienna, Op. 26
LIZA LIM Transcendental Etude (2023)*
GODOWSKY Symphonic Metamorphoses, No.2: Die Fledermaus

*World premiere performances. Commissioned for Musica Viva Australia with funds from the Hildegard Project, championing the work of female composers

23

Perth

Perth

Recital

Perth Concert Hall

Perth Concert Hall

June

CHOPIN Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat major, Op. 61
FAURÉ Nocturne No. 13 in B minor, Op. 119
POULENC Three Intermezzi, FP71/118
LISZT Polonaise in E major, S. 223 No. 2
SCHUMANN Carnival of Vienna, Op. 26
LIZA LIM Transcendental Etude (2023)*
GODOWSKY Symphonic Metamorphoses, No.2: Die Fledermaus

*World premiere performances. Commissioned for Musica Viva Australia with funds from the Hildegard Project, championing the work of female composers

July

5

Essen

Essen

Recital

Zeit für Busoni - Lecture Recital

Zeit für Busoni - Lecture Recital

Zeche Zollverein

Zeche Zollverein

July

7

Essen

Essen

WDR Symphony Orchestra

Elim Chan

Arnold Schönberg: Piano Concerto Op. 42
George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue

Elim Chan

Arnold Schönberg: Piano Concerto Op. 42
George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue

Philharmonie

Philharmonie

July

Arnold Schönberg: Piano Concerto Op. 42
George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue

22

Verbier

Verbier

Recital

Magdalena Kožená

Magdalena Kožená

Église de Verbier - Station

Église de Verbier - Station

July

LEOŠ JANÁČEK: Selection of songs from Moravská lidová poesie v písních

HUGO WOLF: Mörike-Lieder

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF: Six songs Op. 38

ARNOLD SCHOENBERG: Brettl-Lieder

24

Verbier

Verbier

Chamber Music

Leonidas Kavakos, violin
Alisa Weilerstein, cello

Leonidas Kavakos, violin
Alisa Weilerstein, cello

July

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor Op. 66

27

Verbier

Verbier

Recital

Église de Verbier - Station

Église de Verbier - Station

July

Frédéric Chopin: Polonaise-Fantasie in A flat Major, Op. 61
Gabriel Fauré: Nocturne No. 13 in B minor, Op. 119
Francis Poulenc: Three Intermezzi (FP71/118)
Franz Liszt: Polonaise in E major, S. 223 No. 2
Robert Schumann: Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Op. 26
Leopold Godowsky: Symphonische Metamorphosen Johann
Strauss’scher Themen: No. 2 “Die Fledermaus"

31

Tanglewood

Tanglewood

Chamber Music

Joshua Bell, violin
Steven Isserlis, cello

Joshua Bell, violin
Steven Isserlis, cello

Seiji Ozawa Hall

Seiji Ozawa Hall

July

G. Fauré: Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 120

August

4

Tangelwood

Tangelwood

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Alan Gilbert, conductor
Joshua Bell, violin
Steven Isserlis, cello

Ludwig van Beethoven: Triple Concerto

Alan Gilbert, conductor
Joshua Bell, violin
Steven Isserlis, cello

Ludwig van Beethoven: Triple Concerto

Koussevitzky Music Shed

Koussevitzky Music Shed

August

Ludwig van Beethoven: Triple Concerto

9

Tanglewood

Tanglewood

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Alan Gilbert, conductor

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3

Alan Gilbert, conductor

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3

Koussevitzky Music Shed

Koussevitzky Music Shed

August

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3

13

Santa Fe

Santa Fe

Recital

St. Francis Auditorium

St. Francis Auditorium

August

Chopin: Polonaise-Fantasy in A-flat Major, Op. 61
Liszt: Polonaise No. 2 in E Major, S. 223
Schumann: Faschingsschwank aus Wien (Carnival Scenes from Vienna), Op. 26

NEWS

Listen to Kirill in conversation with Gramophone magazine Chief Editor James Jolly about "Music in Time of War"

Digital Release

"I have always believed that our understanding of a piece of music cannot be divorced from the historical and cultural setting in which it was created and received. That is perhaps especially true of the works in this album."

Music in Time of War, the new double-album from pianist Kirill Gerstein, places the music of Komitas, pioneer of ethnomusicology and founder of the Armenian national school of music, alongside that of Claude Debussy, a seminal composer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries who held a deep admiration of Komitas’s music. Both composers were profoundly affected by the implosion of their worlds – Komitas by the Armenian Genocide, Debussy by the First World War – and their music reflects a close emotional alignment. Music in Time of War grew from Gerstein’s fascination with music’s power to reflect a narrative. The project will be released as a double CD album and will be accompanied by a hardcover book containing a series of illustrations and detailed essays in three languages commissioned by the pianist.

Gerstein pairs Debussy’s 12 Études from 1915 and Komitas’s Armenian Dances for piano, composed the following year, and includes a selection of Debussy’s late piano pieces composed to raise funds for the war. The artists featured on the album include Armenian soprano Ruzan Mantashyan, and pianists Thomas Adès and Katia Skanavi – they join Gerstein in a selection of works for voice and piano, piano four hands as well as for two pianos. Accompanying the recording are four in-depth essays from historians Annette Becker and Khatchig Mouradian, musicologist Artur Avanesov and composer Heinz Holliger, that explore the impact of war and genocide on society, and the reaction of artists to such events. These essays give socio-historical context to the music of Debussy and Komitas, and their response to creating in times of catastrophe.

Music in Time of War epitomizes both Kirill Gerstein‘s creative curiosity and his insightful approach to curating projects.

Recorded during 2021 at the Konzerthaus Wien, Siemens Villa Berlin and at the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York.

Pianist Kirill Gerstein joins the London Symphony Orchestra throughout the 2023/24 season as Spotlight Artist, playing four concertos that showcase different dimensions of his artistry.

‘I am deeply honoured to have been chosen as a Spotlight Artist for the LSO’s 2023/24 season. From my initial experience with the Orchestra at the Paris Philharmonie to our concert performances in London and filming during the pandemic, have always been moved by the artistry and passion of the musicians. Collaborating with Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Antonio Pappano, and Susanna Mälkki in music by Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Ades and Gershwin is inspiring and, together, the opportunity to share the thrill of these compositions with our listeners in London and on tour is a joyful gift.’

On Komitas' birthday, in solidarity with the Armenian people:

These words from Komitas’s “Antuni” capture the loss, displacement and trauma that haunts Armenians today as ethnic cleansing in Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh has forced more than 100,000 out of their ancestral lands. We share this recording in solidarity with the Armenian nation.

With Ruzan Mantashyan, soprano

Antuni / Homeless

My heart looks like shattered homes,
Broken are pillars and timbers asunder.
Wild birds will nest in those ruins…
To reach the river, jump in it I wish,
And to become food for the fry of fish.
Ah, your home is destroyed!
I’ve seen Black sea with the white around,
The waves were beating, yet unable to mix them together,
Who has ever seen an ironic sea?
A homeless’ heart is In bewildered state,
Oh, don’t be my heart darkened so much, Ah, your home is destroyed!

The recording project to pair the late music of Debussy with Komitas’ compositions stemming from the horrors of World War 1 and the Armenian Genocide started two years ago. We did not want to imagine that it would poignantly become even more relevant due to the tragic events unfolding in September 2023.

"It may be hard to believe with a work as often played as the second Rachmaninoff concerto, but there really is something new to discover here: This recording is audibly different from the many new concert recordings that were released for the “Rachmaninoff Year” in 2023 are. "

The Rachmaninoff 150 album has just been awarded by the German “Quarterly Critic’s Choice” in the category “Orchestral Music & Concertos”, with the following praising words: “It may be hard to believe with a work as widely played as the second Rachmaninoff concerto, but there really is something new to discover here: This recording is audibly different from the many new concert recordings that were released for the “Rachmaninoff Year” in 2023 are. Elegant and almost light, powerful without being ostentatious and ostentatious, astonishingly bright in its timbres and highly intelligent in the interaction between soloist and orchestra.
The two Kirills – Gerstein and Petrenko – confidently refute all prejudices against the composer and his work, which unfortunately still exist.”

"Kirill Gerstein was soloist in a phenomenal performance of the Piano Concerto. Gerstein, known for his nonchalant virtuosity and vivid intellect in Liszt or Tchaikovsky, is also a skilled jazzer."

Kirill Gerstein’s performance of Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, with Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra was praised by many critics, read a few here:
Financial Times
The Telegraph
The Guardian
inews.uk

Berlin & Frankfurt

Kirill Gerstein’s next encounter with Robin Ticciati and the DSO Berlin is coming up, with two concerts at the Berlin Philharmonie and one concert at Alte Oper Frankfurt.