Event info

In classical music, time is relative. Contemporary musicians enjoy collaborative conversations with music of the past that are both creative and innovative. This applies particularly well to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, who, despite being considered old fashioned in his own time, constantly brings fresh tidings to contemporary ears – as can clearly be heard both in the elegant Sonata for violin and keyboard in F-minor and in the curious selection of arias featured in this programme. When it comes to musical conversations with colleagues of the past, few rival the Hungarian composer György Kurtág and his delicate miniatures – works that prove that the most impressive monuments are not necessarily the largest ones. In this concert, movements from Kurtág’s Hommage á Schumann for clarinet, viola and piano are intertwined with Robert Schumann’s own adventure tales for the same instruments, Märchenerzählungen, opening up a correspondence across the centuries for the audience to enjoy, before a contemporary composer, Mark Simpson, enters the conversation with his own homage to Kurtág. The concert ends with Schumann’s timeless song cycle, where Florian Boesch’s silky voice delivers intimate messages from the recent past.

Program:

Johann Sebastian Bach Violin Sonata No 5 in F minor, BWV 1018 (1717 – 1723)
Robert Schumann Märchenerzählungen op. 132 (1853)
1. Lebhaft, nicht zu schnell
György Kurtág Hommage à Robert Schumann, op. 15d (1990)
1. Merkwürdige Pirouetten des Kapellmeisters Johannes Kreisler – Vivo
2. E.: Der begrenzte Kreis… – Molto semplice, piano e legato
Robert Schumann Märchenerzählungen, op. 132 (1853)
2. Lebhaft und sehr markiert
György Kurtág Hommage à Robert Schumann, op. 15d (1990)
3….und wieder zuckt es schmerzlich F. um die Lippen… – Feroce, agitato
4. Felhó valék, már süt a nap… (Töredék-töredék) – Calmo, scorrevole
Robert Schumann Märchenerzählungen, op. 132(1853)
3. Ruhiges Tempo, mit zartem Ausdruck
György Kurtág Hommage à Robert Schumann (1990)
5. In der Nacht – Presto
6. Abschied (Meister Raro entdeckt Guillaume de Machaut) – Adagio, poco andante
Robert Schumann Märchenerzählungen, op. 132 (1853)
4. Lebhaft, sehr markiert
Mark Simpson Hommage à Kurtág (2016)

Intermission

Johann Sebastian Bach Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem, BWV 159 (1729)
Komm, süsser Tod, BWV 478 (1735)
Nun komm, der heiden Heiland, BWV 62 (1724)
Bist du bei mir, BWV 508 (1725)
Robert Schumann / Joseph Eichendorff Liederkreis, Op 39 (1840)

Artists:
Florian Boesch, baritone
Mark Simpson, clarinet
Ilya Gringolts, violin
Yura Lee, viola
Leonard Elschenbroich, cello
Jakob Koranyi, cello
Víkingur Ólafsson, piano