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Piano Prelude

Digital Concert

20:15 Streaming @St. John's International School

Streaming here or on our Youtube channel on April 1 , 2021 at 8:15 pm. 

Belgian National Orchestra
David Niemann, conductor
Salih Can Gevrek, piano
S. Rachmaninov:
Concerto No. 2, in c minor, for piano & orchestra, op. 18
I. Moderato
II. Adagio sostenuto
III. Allegro scherzando

Belgian National Orchestra
David Niemann, conductor
Jonathan Fournel, piano
J. Brahms:
Concerto No. 2, in B-flat major, for piano & orchestra, op. 83
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Allegro appassionato
III. Andante
IV. Allegretto grazioso

As a prelude to the session of the Queen Elisabeth Competition dedicated to the piano, we invite you to discover our artists in residence and the concertos they will interpret during the competition. The ideal opportunity to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the competition, but also to discover the musicians in a different light.

Musicological notes

  • S. Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2, in C minor, op. 18

The composition of this masterpiece of the piano repertoire, crowned with success from the outset, represents Rachmaninov’s triumph over his creative impasse. An almost sacred atmosphere unfolds from the very first bars, the chords resounding like the bells of the great Russian churches. The Adagio sostenuto, whose melody rises like a prayer, and the Allegro scherzando, the expression of a tormented struggle, give this concerto its great emotional intensity.

  • J. Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2, in B-flat major, op. 83

With this grandiose concerto, Brahms achieved a fusion of the genres at which he excelled. The addition of a Scherzo and the organic development of the first movement give it the breadth of a symphony. The expressive duet between cello and piano places the Andante at the crossroads between chamber music and lied, with the clarinets quoting exactly the lied Todessehnen (“Longing for Death”) that Brahms had composed three years earlier. In a very different style, the Allegretto grazioso incorporates elements inspired by Hungarian folk tunes.

 

We would like to thank:

Our structural sponsors – ING, Proximus and Ginion Group.

Our institutional partners – the « Loterie Nationale / Nationale Loterij » and the « Banque Nationale de Belgique / Nationale Bank van België ».

The Foundations – Baillet Latour Fund, Foundation Futur21, King Baudouin Foundation, Foundation Engie, Guttman collection -, the corporate partners, all the Maecenas and those who prefer to remain anonymous.

Thank you also to our public support – the « Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles », Belspo, the « Province du Brabant Wallon », the « Commune de Waterloo ».