Concert Sergey Khachatryan (violin). Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra. Conductor - Valery Gergiev. Beethoven, Mahler World famous Mariinsky Ballet and Opera Theatre - Opera and Concert Hall
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Schedule for Sergey Khachatryan (violin). Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra. Conductor - Valery Gergiev. Beethoven, Mahler 2022
Composer: Ludwig Van Beethoven Composer: Gustav Mahler
Orchestra: Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra
Sergey Khachatryan (violin) Mariinsky Theatre
Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Valery Gergiev
The programme includes: Ludwig van Beethoven Violin Concerto Gustav Mahler
Symphony No 7
Beethoven’s violin concerto in D Major (1806) is among the
very finest examples in the genre in terms of European classical music. It is
remarkable for the depth of its content together with the majestic simplicity of
its themes, its poignant and sincere lyricism, its noble restraint of emotions
and true aristocratism. The latter emerges in a reluctance to indulge the tastes
of the public, which according to the established tradition was expecting a
demonstration of virtuoso standards with the concerto, both from the soloist and
from his instrument. Apropos, again, as in his piano concerti, the composer here
strives towards the symphonic form. With Beethoven, “virtuosity always remains
the servant to inspiration” (Edouard Herriot). At the premiere, performed by
renowned virtuoso Franz Clement in Vienna on 23 December 1806, the Concerto
proved a failure with the public. One year later, Clement resolved on a repeat
performance of just the first movement of the Concerto, and once again failed to
find a common language with the Viennese. Surprisingly, Beethoven’s masterpiece
was never again performed during his lifetime. Before us we have one of the most
striking examples of collective deafness and unforgivable short-sightedness on
behalf of music critics. At the advice of Muzio Clementi (a composer and
brilliant pianist), a disappointed Beethoven … rearranged the violin part for
piano in 1807 and even wrote piano cadenzas for the first movement and for the
finale. Sadly, this version, too, Beethoven was not destined to hear; it has
been performed on very rare occasions in the course of the subsequent two
centuries. On the other hand, Beethoven’s original score, published only in 1861
(during the composer’s lifetime only the solo and the orchestral parts were
printed), has since won acclaim throughout the world.
It is my finest work, moreover it is primarily light in character.
G. Mahler
This epigraph, taken from a letter from Mahler to Emil Gutmann,
the impresario and director of a concert agency which was preparing for the
premiere of Mahler’s Seventh and Eighth Symphonies, is rather typical of many
(if not all!) artists and creators. An opus being created today holds complete
sway over the composer’s thoughts, he will be sincere in his love of the score
he is writing. Mahler’s Tragische Sixth Symphony is framed by two heroic,
life affirming symphonies – the Fifth and the Seventh. But any parallels with
Beethoven are approximate: this is not Beethoven’s heroic struggle and triumph.
The contrasts between people’s moods, embodied in natural rotations, were closer
to Mahler – rotations such as the changing seasons, day and night, light and
darkness… The twilight of consciousness, fatalistic doom and the hero’s romantic
searches are contrasted with a classical clarity in the abridged pages of the
symphonic cycles. “… The sunlight of the finale (in the Seventh, I. R.) also has
its own cultural and historical starting point. It is, as in the Fifth Symphony,
“the golden age of the classics” (Inna Barsova). Arguably, the Seventh Symphony,
like no other of Mahler’s symphonies, is picturesque, like no other appealing to
visual images – be it natural scenes or picturesque panoramas. This dictates the
inventiveness of the sound, which at times reaches staggering effects, close, on
one hand, to the art of Rembrandt and, on the other, to the paintings of the
Impressionists.
Iosif Raiskin
Schedule for Sergey Khachatryan (violin). Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra. Conductor - Valery Gergiev. Beethoven, Mahler 2022
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