MCO x YUJA: Agility with Strings

November 2024

The second collaboration with our Artistic Partner Yuja Wang, takes us through the heart of Europe. With her captivating stage presence, Yuja leads the MCO from the piano, creating a magical interplay bewteen all musicians on stage. 

The programme blends classical with contemporary, embracing influences of jazz. Opening with Igor Stravinsky's Dumbarton Oaks, a neoclassical piece that was inspired by Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos and what became the composers final European composition. 

Two pieces from Maurice Ravel's center the programe. On Piano Concerto in G major Ravel said: “My only wish … was to write a genuine concerto, that is, a brilliant work, clearly highlighting the soloist's virtuosity, without seeking to show profundity”. Influenced by the jazz he experienced during his short American tour, the piece brings out the concerto's playful and intricate character, echoing the spirit of Gershwin's rhythms and dreamy French impressionism. Le Tombeau de Couperin (The Grave of Couperin), a suite for solo piano transformed into an orchestral masterpiece was dedicated to friends of the composer who died fighting in World War I. A poignant remembrance, the piece draws structurally upon a Baroque dance suite. 

Closing out the programme is Alexander Naumovich Tsfasman's Suite for Piano and Orchestra (Jazz Suite). Known as the "George Gershwin of Russia," Tsfasman's suite combines swinging rhythms, jazz harmonies, and piano passages. Capturing the spirit of Soviet Jazz, the piece interweaves romantic melodies in the style of Rachmaninov.

We regret very much that, due to the circumstances around the recent tragic flooding, the concert on 13 November at the Palau de la Música in Valencia can no longer take place.



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CONCERTS THIS TOUR

14 November 2024 Madrid

Thursday 19:30 / Teatro Real

I. STRAVINSKY / M. RAVEL / A. TSFASMAN     

Yuja Wang piano & director / José Maria Blumenschein concertmaster & leader  

15 November 2024 Seville

Friday 20:00 / Teatro Maestranza

I. STRAVINSKY / M. RAVEL / A. TSFASMAN     

Yuja Wang piano & director / José Maria Blumenschein concertmaster & leader  

17 November 2024 Lisbon

Sunday 18:00 / Gulbenkian

I. STRAVINSKY / M. RAVEL / A. TSFASMAN     

Yuja Wang piano & director / José Maria Blumenschein concertmaster & leader  

19 November 2024 Antwerp

Tuesday 20:00 / de Singel

I. STRAVINSKY / M. RAVEL / A. TSFASMAN     

Yuja Wang piano & director / José Maria Blumenschein concertmaster & leader  

20 November 2024 Amsterdam

Wednesday 20:15 / Concertgebouw

I. STRAVINSKY / M. RAVEL / A. TSFASMAN     

Yuja Wang piano & director / José Maria Blumenschein concertmaster & leader  

21 November 2024 Vienna

Thursday 19:30 / Wiener Konzerthaus

I. STRAVINSKY / M. RAVEL / A. TSFASMAN     

Yuja Wang piano & director / José Maria Blumenschein concertmaster & leader  

23 November 2024 Hamburg

Saturday 20:00 / Elbphilharmonie

I. STRAVINSKY / M. RAVEL / A. TSFASMAN     

Yuja Wang piano & director / José Maria Blumenschein concertmaster & leader