November 2024
Japanese shooting star Mao Fujita is rapidly becoming a much sought-after interpreter of Mozart as well as Beethoven, and has been performing at renowned concert halls worldwide. “When his fingers touched the keys, ... waves of airy filigree, beautifully formed and finished, emerged in almost uninterrupted streams”, commented the London Times in 2023. We are very much looking forward to sharing the stage with this outstanding pianist on our tour to Italy and France. Maria João Pires, who had planned to be on this tour with us, unfortunately had to cancel her participation for personal reasons.
Beethoven's serene fourth piano concerto will be on
the program for two evenings, along with Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's lively
fourth, "Italian" symphony. While the latter evokes the landscape and
atmosphere of southern Europe, Peter Eötvös’ Aurora, the opening piece of this
program, was composed under the impression of the natural phenomenon of the
Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis), which the composer witnessed when traveling
to Alaska in 1971. MCO’s double bassist Rick Stotijn will play the demanding solo
part in this piece.
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.
