Symphonic Masterpieces – Rhythms and Roots

RECORDINGS OF THE WORKS

Antonín Dvořák: Symfoni nr. 8 i G-dur, op. 88

Whole work

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Symphonic Masterpieces – Rhythms and Roots

Description

A hypervirtuosic piano concerto with folkloric colours. It is a great pleasure to welcome the pianist Martin Helmchen back as soloist with Kork. Last time it was in Richard Strauss' playful Burleske. Now he is back with one of the great virtuoso concertos of the 1900s, and that is more than a figure of speech. Béla Bartók was a formidable pianist, and he wrote several works with himself as performer in mind. With the Piano Concerto No. 2 from 1930 as an example, one quickly understands what pianistic level he was on and why the great pianists around the world want to have this bravura piece in their repertoire. Bartók himself wrote that he wanted a somewhat simpler structure for No. 2, compared with the complex No. 1, with "fewer difficulties for the orchestra and with more accessible thematic material". And the concerto absolutely fulfils the Romantic tradition with its jaw-dropping passages and challenges, but combined with the entertainment aspect, this is a Bartók who grabs hold of the soundworld of the 1900s, percussive chords and with folk music present melodically and not least rhythmically. If the orchestral part is written "more simply", it is at the same time a work in which the orchestra is very important both in sound and melody, not least in how individual instruments keep playing against and with the soloist. Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 8 sells itself, as a wonder of melodies and rhythms, created by a wizard of melody deeply rooted in distinctively Czech music. But most of all it is a symphonic master at work, and perhaps it is the combination of the at times violent drama set against the lyrical and beautiful that makes us gladly join Antonín's musical story. The Portuguese conductor Dinis Sousa, on the other hand, is a new acquaintance for Kork, but in recent years he has made a strong mark as conductor of the most cutting-edge orchestras and soloists. We look forward to his interpretation of Dvořák's masterpiece. Programme: Béla Bartók / Piano Concerto No. 2 Antonín Dvořák / Symphony No. 8