October 2022
Repertoire
F. Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 21
A. Dvořák: Symphony No. 7, Op. 70
Performers
Ivo Pogorelich, piano
Franz Schubert Filharmonia
Tomàs Grau, conductor
Programme notes
Our season opener features the incomparable artistry of pianist Ivo Pogorelich. As a young man he caused a sensation with his interpretations of Chopin, and he joins us here for the composer’s Second Piano Concerto. A living legend, Pogorelich has played at all the world’s greatest venues and continues to amaze audiences with the brilliance of his musicianship wherever he goes. His style of playing and his commitment to the music he performs have not only created a school, they have also sparked passionate debates.
MUSICAL COMMITMENT
A living legend, Pogorelich has played at all the world’s greatest venues and continues to amaze audiences with the brilliance of his musicianship wherever he goes. His style of playing and his commitment to the music he performs have not only created a school, they have also led to pages and pages of opinion pieces being penned by admirers and adversaries alike. It is a huge privilege to welcome this visceral, utterly authentic musician to Barcelona to open our season. Pogorelich made his breakthrough performing the music of Chopin and for his appearance with the Filharmonia has chosen a concerto with which the composer conquered Paris, earning a reputation for himself as “the poet of the piano”. Dvořák was made an honorary member of the Philharmonic Society of London at the age of 43 and was commissioned to write a symphony to be premiered in the British capital. Although nationalism had been the main inspiration for his work up to that point, in his Seventh Symphony he laid bare his soul and gave voice to his greatest passions – joy, vitality, sorrow and hope. His Seventh is Romanticism in its pure state, expressing the extremes of emotion while still featuring the Slavonic and other folk themes that are such an intrinsic part of his music’s DNA.