Philharmonie de Paris
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PROGRAMME
- P. EÖTVÖS Aurora
- L. v. BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4
- L. v. BEETHOVEN Symphony no. 5
- Elim Chan conductor
- Maria João Pires piano
- Rick Stotijn double bass
ABOUT THIS CONCERT
Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires is loved by audiences worldwide for her warm tone and thoughtful interpretations. In 2023, MCO members, who traditionally form a large part of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra every summer, had the pleasure of performing Mozart's "Jeunehomme" piano concerto together with Pires. The MCO is happy to continue this inspiring collaboration during a tour that will take us to Italy and France.
This evening will open with Peter Eötvös’ “Aurora”, written in 2019 and reflecting the Hungarian composer’s witnessing of a very special natural phenomenon, the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis: “Such a tremendous thing, such an array of moving colors, I had never seen before. It was not only beautiful but also very powerful, almost threatening, and monumental. In Aurora, I tried to convey my own impressions – feeling like a part of the cosmos in that moment.” This concert piece for double bass and orchestra features MCO’s solo double bassist Rick Stotijn and will be played in memory of Eötvös, who passed away at age 80 in March this year.
Beethoven’s fourth Piano Concerto in the serene tonality of G major, which the composer himself publicly premiered at the Theater an der Wien in 1808, represents musical dialogue at its best, with the solo piano setting the tone right at the beginning of the first movement. Maria João Pires is the MCO’s wonderful partner for what is maybe the most chamber-music-inspired of the composer's five concertos for piano and orchestra.
Beethoven’s fifth symphony was also publicly premiered on December 22, 1808 in Vienna, in what has often been called a marathon concert of incredible length at the Theater an der Wien. Due to the composer’s increasing deafness, this was to be Beethoven’s last appearance as a soloist with an orchestra.
With ascending conductor Elim Chan, this is our second tour; we will again share the stage with her during our MCO Academy tour in February 2025.
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