Kissin takes on a new concerto
mainFor the first time tonight, Evgeny Kissin will play the first concerto by Franz Liszt.
The performance will be in Helsinki, with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and its chief conductor Hannu Lintu.
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Should be wonderful. Hoping for boldness and angularity …
As an aside, amazing musical contributions from countries on either side of the Gulf of Finland. Little more than 10 million people combined (except Russia of course!).
Oh…I thought he was playing a new concerto, or a really neglected one….Surely, he will play it well and with lots of bravura.
I do not follow his carreer. Is this an exceptional event?
Can’t wait for him to play some Stockhausen for the encore!
It is hroadcast live at 5pm UK time on Thurs 6 Sept in YLE1, available via the internet.
I sure hope they’ve got a good triangle player.
I’m not a fan of Liszt’s two concertos, though I quite admire much of his other music, and really like Totentanz. Doesn’t really seem a stretch or casting against type for the great man. Since he’s in Finland: Did Rautavaara ever write a piano concerto? Or one of Magnus Lindberg’s? That would be something to write home about.
It’s not that unusual to play both concertos in the same concert. I believe Stephen Hough did this just a few years back. It wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world to include some solo Liszt and give the orchestra a rest whilst getting ready to give their all for the 2nd half of the concert.
Rautavaara wrote three, and the first is a fun one, at places a conscious parody of Romantic piano concerti (there’s for instance a Big Tune played using white-key clusters of an octave). The latter two are kind of insignificant.
Lindberg’s first concerto is a piece I’d really love to hear live, and in my opinion far superior to the second concerto, which is too much of a riff on Ravel’s left hand concerto interspersed with stock post-neo-romanticism. His own recording of it is pretty good, but having another interpretation by a full-time soloist (Laura Mikkola is to my knowledge to compare it against would be interesting. Hoping the Finnish RSO would include it in the programme of their upcoming Lindberg festival…
The first concerto is not an easy piece to include in a program: it is only 18 minutes, and honestly, it is expensive to bring a super-star to be on stage only for 18 minutes. That is the same problem with Strauss’ Burleske (17 minutes). I am not surprised Kissin has never been asked to play it.
The musical density of Liszt’s 1st concerto justifies its duration.