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Notes from the road, upcoming performances, thoughts on classical music
На предстоящем Сахаровском фестивале готовлюсь исполнить концертную версию оперы Александра Чайковского "Один день Ивана Денисовича". Произведение, как мне кажется, динамичное, разнообразное, и правильно ловящее дух великого рассказа. Вот фрагмент из постановки Пермского театра—сцена, где кавторанга уводят в карцер.
A review of my recent return to the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia in a program of Schumann, Britten, and Haydn.
“Departed music directors aren’t always missed, but Ignat Solzhenitsyn’s return to the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia was greeted with unusual dedication by the musicians, almost as if they were reclaiming an identity Monday at the Kimmel Center.
Solzhenitsyn’s penchant for lesser-known works by major composers yielded a wonderful discovery in Schumann’s Introduction and Allegro Appassionato (Op. 92; the conductor doubled as pianist), which tries to be urbane but has the composer’s customary depths nonetheless. Every phrase had so much life that listeners had little room to stand back and ask how well the piece stands up to better-known Schumann.”
Недавно я снова разговаривал с замечательным Юлианом Макаровым в его программе "Главная роль". А наши предыдущие беседы можно посмотреть здесь и здесь.
Another review of last week's performance of Prokofiev's "War Sonatas" at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.
“That, combined with a virtuoso-level technique I hadn’t previously heard from him (the piano was retuned at intermission), made the Prokofiev program a landmark experience. There wasn’t the slightest problem following the music’s train of thought. Performing the sonatas together seemed essential, with his ability to highlight their cross-references.
The last and greatest of the three sonatas became infinitely more meaningful in this concert. The music itself has a late-Scriabin remoteness, along with layered compositional techniques not often heard in Prokofiev - best appreciated from hearing the other two sonatas. The middle-movement waltz, initially so trivial, took on a convincing ghostly irony. The clarity of the helter-skelter final movement showed how grotesque the music intends to be, reminding you that hell is defined as a place where nothing makes sense.”
A review of last week's performance of Prokofiev's "War Sonatas" at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Daily News interviewed me in this past Sunday's edition and one of the questions led me to recall some memorable words of Schnabel:
“The great pianist Arthur Schnabel, whose student Maria Curcio was one of my teachers, famously said that great music is better than it can ever be performed. Without that awesome sense of an unbridgeable impossible gulf between the possible and the ideal, why go into music to dream small dreams? Facing impossible challenges is what keeps us going.”
В интервью по случаю сегодняшнего концерта с Большим Симфоническим Оркестром меня спросили о двух версиях великой оперы Шостаковича Леди Макбет Мценского уезда (Катерина Измайлова). Вот часть моего ответа:
“Такие вещи, как “Леди Макбет”, - шедевры высшего уровня. Что касается второй редакции, в чем-то “Катерина Измайлова” более совершенна, в первой же версии есть некоторые просчеты - в оркестровке, в нюансах, в темпах, некоторые из них физически невозможно спеть и сыграть. Вполне понятно, что артист со временем слышит свои ошибки, хочет что-то изменить, тем более если тридцать лет прошло. Но эти улучшения можно рассматривать и как некоторое сглаживание фактуры, экстремальных моментов, и в этом смысле буйная, дикая необузданность первой версии пленяет. К тому же она была запрещена, а запрещать музыкальное произведение, как и жечь книги, - это варварство. И еще поэтому первая версия мне близка - хочется дать ей возможность занять свое место.”
В недавнем выпуске передачи "Царская ложа" есть мое интервью в Мариинском театре.
Другие мои выступления в этой передаче можно посмотреть здесь.
A review of last week's concerts with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as part of Mozart@258.
“As a conductor, Maestro Solzhenitsyn is direct. He works without score and without a podium. From the opening phrases of Mozart’s succinct overture to La Clemenza di Tito, it was evident the orchestra responded.
Solzhenitsyn’s playing in the slow movement was unusual for its delicacy, limpid clarity and heartfelt tenderness. The orchestral voices flowed like a choir around the solo voice of the piano and I never heard the TSO play better. Sarah Jeffrey’s oboe was outstanding. The glory of the third movement was how perfectly the orchestral soloists responded to Solzhenitsyn’s tonal cues from the piano during the many repeats. His cadenza was elaborate and mercurial in reflecting a multitude of moods before merging with the orchestra like water poured into water. ”
My new Beethoven CD has been released by Illuvium! It's been a hugely demanding project, but I think the result is worthwhile.
