NEW YEAR'S CONCERT: RACHMANINOV INVITES TO DANCE - Bühnen Bern

Description

New Year's Concert: Rachmaninov invites to dance Francis Poulenc was a dandy, an aesthete — and an incorrigible eccentric. In his lively concert for two pianos, the French composer achieved a wild mix of styles in the early 1930s — musically placed somewhere between Mozart, Indonesian Gamelan music, and Parisian chansons, garnished with a healthy dose of decadence. The virtuoso showpiece is performed by the piano power duo Kirill Gerstein and Katia Skanavi. Afterwards, Sergei Rachmaninov invites to dance: his Symphonic Dances, his last work, which the composer himself described as his best creation and his 'last spark.' Once again, Rachmaninov pulls out all the stops and culminates his composition in a musical fireworks display. Joan Tower's energetic Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 4, which opens the New Year's concert, also ignites a similar fire. Conducted by: the German-Japanese conductor Erina Yashima, recently celebrated by the press as 'a new star in the conductor's sky.' Joan Tower (*1938) Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 4 (1992) (5') Francis Poulenc (1899–1963) Concert for Two Pianos and Orchestra in D minor FP 61 (1932) (22') Sergei Rachmaninov (1873–1943) Symphonic Dances op. 45 (1940) (35') Conductor: Erina Yashima Piano: Kirill Gerstein Piano: Katia Skanavi A concert by the Symphony Orchestra