January 31, 2022 | Tchaikovsky Concert Hall
Subscription series No. 24 “Images. Tribute to Evgeny Svetlanov”: “Masquerade”
Soloist – Alexander Ramm, cello
Conductor – Vladimir Spivakov
Tchaikovsky. “Romeo and Juliet” Overture-Fantasy
Saint-Saens. Concerto for cello and orchestra No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33
Prokofiev. “Romeo and Juliet” Suite
Khachaturian. Suite from the incidental music to Lermontov's drama "Masquerade"
The National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia continues its subscription series “Images” dedicated to Evgeny Svetlanov and timed to the centenary of the Moscow Philharmonic Society. The second concert of the series on January 31 will be conducted by the NPR's Artistic Director Vladimir Spivakov. Under his baton there will be performed works by Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Khachaturian, combined in the “Masquerade” program owing to their relation to great dramas played in theaters over and over again.
Lermontov's “Masquerade” staged at the Vakhtangov Theater in 1941 was accompanied by Aram Khachaturian's incidental music later set into a five-movement symphonic suite. The immortal tragedy “Romeo and Juliet”, in which the protagonists met just at a masked ball, has attracted attention of many composers. Its plot served as the basis for Berlioz's dramatic symphony, over 24 operas, Tchaikovsky's Fantasy Overture (the Russian composer first cherished the idea of writing an opera), Prokofiev's ballet. It was Prokofiev who first made the lovers of Verona dance, though initially his unusual music met no understanding from producers and dancers.
The programme also features Saint-Saëns's First Cello Concerto called by Adam Carse, British composer, musicologist and expert of orchestra instruments, “the only well orchestrated cello concerto of the 19th century” where the author managed to convey “light colors and restraint”. The solo part in the elegant and poetic work, which reminds Liszt's single-movement concertos in its form, will be played by Alexander Ramm, an awardee of international competitions, participant of the “Stars of the 21st Century” project of the Moscow Philharmonic Society.