Overview: Pianist Roman Rabinovich delivers spellbinding live performance with CPO

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Simply two works had been carried out on the CPO’s final Curated Collection live performance, which prior to now was known as its Fundamental Collection. These live shows, the guts of the explanation for the orchestra’s existence, usually current the main classics of the established orchestral repertoire.

On this event, this was solely partially the case. Pianist Roman Rabinovich, the featured performer for the night, carried out Witold Lutoslawski’s piano concerto, the primary efficiency of this work in Calgary and virtually actually one of many first performances of this work in Canada. Lutoslawski’s music has not been heard a lot in Calgary, though there was a efficiency of his Symphonic Variations about 18 months in the past. He stays, in Canada no less than, largely unknown.

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The Piano Concerto is a powerful work. Challengingly trendy, it represents the ultimate section of the work of this exceptional Polish composer, more likely to be essentially the most enduring of the trendy composers from that nation. Lutoslawski was an exceptionally in a position pianist, and this work, composed with Krystian Zimmerman because the supposed soloist, is tough past imagining.

That Rabinovich might play this concerto in any respect is spectacular. That he might play it with whole mastery and full technical freedom was spellbinding. Whereas the complicated sounds had been a problem to the viewers, the style of the efficiency was so compelling that the viewers, not at all times heat to music of this type, was swept away, rising to its toes to applaud the soloist.

For the orchestra, the rating comprises complicated components that transcend standard notation, posing a problem for each the gamers and the conductor. That is music that retains everybody on their toes, and it’s a credit score to the orchestra and conductor for managing a chunk of this complexity. Each pianist and orchestra gave the very best of themselves on this efficiency, the rhythms taut and thrilling, and with terrific climaxes within the last actions.

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For an encore, and in anticipation of the music of the second half of the live performance, Rabinovich carried out Rachmaninoff’s Second musicaux No. 4 in E minor, a tempestuous torrent of sound that calls for the type of transcendental virtuosity typically related to the composer. Right here, as within the Lutoslawski concerto, Rabinovich carried out with the utmost confidence and bravura. Barely diffident in method, Rabinovich was all authority when seated on the piano, his performing persona certainly one of targeted musical focus and technical command. He’s up there with the very best.

The opposite work on this system was Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony. This was supplied with the Julie Andrews strategy to the programming: “A spoonful of (musical) sugar makes the drugs (or trendy piano concerto) go down in a most pleasant manner.” Few works for orchestra are extra melody-drenched than this symphony, particularly the gradual motion, one of many composer’s most heavenly and impressed moments.

The orchestra was pleased to play this piece, and it was given an affectionate, sentiment-filled efficiency, enlivened by a peppy finale motion. The efficiency featured some very fantastic solo taking part in, particularly from the woodwinds, together with the lengthy clarinet solo expressively performed by principal clarinettist Slavko Popovic. The solo moments for the opposite devices had been additionally poised and gracious.

This was an enormous live performance to organize for conductor Rune Bergmann, and along with his common good humour he guided the orchestra with readability and assurance. In all, this was the complete meal deal for the viewers, which left smiling, having had a really worthy and stimulating night time at Jack Singer Live performance Corridor.

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