SOI Autumn 2019: Brahms & Stravinksy

Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83
Stravinsky: Petrushka (1947 version)

Alexander Lazarev, one of Russia’s foremost conductors, and renowned Irish pianist Barry Douglas, a favourite with Mumbai audiences, return to the SOI to perform Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2.

One of the giants of the Romantic period, Brahms was a master of piano writing. His second piano concerto manages to combine the widest extremes—it is majestic, yet possesses a lightness of touch.  It is a virtuosic showpiece for the solist, yet it is highly introspective at the same time.

The programme also features the suite from Stravinsky’s ballet Petrushka. The primitive nature of Stravinsky’s music captures the essence of the characters in the story—which dates from 16^th-Century Commedia dell’arte—who represent human emotions in their most raw form: Petrushka, who yearns for love; the Ballerina, the unattainable symbol of beauty; and the Moor, ill-mannered and symbolizing the base aspects of humanity.

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