Piano classics with depth. Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was famous as a pianist, and is remembered today as one of the most important composers of the Romantic period. Martin Helmchen presents the various facets of the great composer in four piano pieces at the Verbier International Classical Music Festival in the Swiss Alps on July 26, 2011.
(00:00) Coming on stage
(00:13) Prelude after Bach’s “Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen”
(05:06) Au bord d’une source (Années de pèlerinage I, S. 160 No. 4)
(09:04) Nuages gris
(12:28) Vexilla regis prodeunt
Martin Helmchen | PIANO
Franz Liszt considered Johann Sebastian Bach's Mass in B minor to be the "Mont Blanc" of church music. He revered the Baroque composer and set some of his cantatas to music for organ and piano in the mid-19th century. In 1859, he arranged the theme from the opening chorus of Bach's Cantata No. 12 and composed a prelude for piano to it (p. 179). He wrote 25 variations on the motif of the first words: "Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen" (Weeping, Lamentations, Sorrows, Fears). Johann Sebastian Bach wrote his cantata of the same name, No. 12, during his time as Kapellmeister in Weimar. He himself later used the opening section in "Crucifixus" of his Mass in B minor, the mass that Franz Liszt considered to be the greatest in Western music. Incidentally, Franz Liszt dedicated the Prelude "Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen" to the pianist Anton Rubinstein, who founded the first conservatory in Russia in 1862.
The title of the piece "Au bord d'une source" (Beside a Spring) (p. 160/4) is a reference to the poet Friedrich Schiller, who says: "In purring coolness / the games / of young nature begin." There are different versions of this piece. Martin Helmchen plays the version from the first suite of the "Années de Pèlerinage" (Years of Pilgrimage), which Liszt published in 1855. These Years of Pilgrimage are a collection of 26 character pieces in three volumes for piano. The subject of the traveler was very popular in the Romantic period, symbolically also as a journey of self discovery. Goethe's bildungsroman "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship" from 1795/96 served as a model. Liszt's compositions are based on his own travels. The first volume of his collection is entitled: The First Year: Switzerland.
One of Liszt's late works is "Nuages gris" (Grey Clouds) (p. 199), composed in August 1881, when Liszt was experimenting with new sounds. A simple piece for pianists, its sound was nevertheless impressive and ahead of its time. Liszt thought a lot about tonality in his old age. He worked with semitones and extended triads, creating dissonant sounds that he did not resolve into harmonies. All of this points in the direction of atonal music, which was only consciously developed as such at the beginning of the 20th century. Fun fact: Stanley Kubrick also used the mystical sounds of "Nuages gris" in his last film, "Eyes Wide Shut”, alongside pieces of music by other classical composers. Liszt's piece serves as background music for an eerie scene in a morgue.
The text and melody of the Latin spiritual hymn "Vexilla regis prodeunt" are world famous. This Christian hymn served Franz Liszt as the basis for his piano piece of the same name in 1864. Surprisingly, it was only published in the 1970s as "Vexilla regis prodeunt, p. 185". A powerful march with imposing chords. In this concert, Martin Helmchen shows not only the many facets of Franz Liszt, but also his own as a skilled pianist.
Berlin native Martin Helmchen (*1982) is one of the most sought-after pianists in renowned orchestras worldwide. He studied at the prestigious Hans Eisler Academy of Music. Among his mentors were Galina Ivanzova and Alfred Brendel. Critics praise the originality and intensity of Helmchen's musical interpretations. In 2020, he received the prestigious Gramophone Music Award for his recording of all of Ludwig van Beethoven's piano concertos. As a concert pianist, he has performed with world-renowned orchestras, in Germany and the USA in particular, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic. Since 2010, Martin Helmchen has been Associate Professor of Chamber Music at Kronberg Academy, a conservatory for particularly talented musicians.
© 2011 IDEALE AUDIENCE - MUSEEC
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31 май 2024
