Musikfest Berlin
PROGRAMME
O. KNUSSEN The Way To Castle Yonder
H. PURCELL Three Consorts (1680) (arr. Benjamin)
I. STRAVINSKY Movements for piano and orchestra
G. BENJAMIN Concerto for Orchestra (German premiere) *
I. STRAVINSKY Suite from Pulcinella
Sir George Benjamin conductor
Tamara Stefanovich piano
*Commissioned by the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, supported by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, and BBC Radio 3.
ABOUT THIS CONCERT
The Mahler Chamber Orchestra continues its close
collaboration with the British composer George Benjamin with a tour
that has at its centre a concerto of our own.
George Benjamin
is one of our most important living composers, and his association with
the MCO dates back to a concert in Lucerne in 2009. A bond was formed,
because three years later we reunited in Aix-en-Provence, this time for
the premiere of Benjamin's first large-scale opera, Written on Skin.
Few could doubt that this was already one of the great works of the
century. But what made the experience so special was the fact that this
captivating score had been crafted specifically to suit the MCO's sound.
Nine years and many more collaborations later, and Benjamin has
again emerged with a major work that is expressly created for – and
this time, dedicated to – our orchestra. His first purely orchestral
work in almost two decades, George Benjamin's Concerto for Orchestra
receives its world premiere at the 2021 BBC Proms, where the MCO has
the distinction of being the only international orchestra performing.
Intimately
connected to the Concerto is another British composer, the late Oliver
Knussen, in whose memory the work is written. The programme, conducted
by Benjamin, begins with The Way to Castle Yonder, Knussen's self-styled "pot-pourri" of orchestral interludes taken from the opera Higglety Pigglety Pop!,
a tender and humorous requiem for Maurice Sendak's dog. Passing through
consorts of Purcell, in brand new arrangements by Benjamin, the British
theme takes pause for Stravinsky's vibrant Movements, played
by Tamara Stefanovich, and the orchestral fireworks of his Suite from Pulcinella.
//
With the kind support of Klangwert – Aventis Foundation Musical Ensemble Promotion, the Rudolf Augstein Foundation and the Ilse and Dr. Horst Rusch Foundation.
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