May 16, 2022 | Tchaikovsky Concert Hall
The Bach Hour: “Man, love the world!”
Vladimir Spivakov,violin
Anastasia Belukova, soprano
Timur Pirverdiev, violin
Pyotr Gladysh, cello
Zoya Abolitz, harpsichord
J.-S.Bach. Arias from Cantatas No. 208, 57, 186, 68 and the Mass in A major, BWV 234
Sonata No. 2 for violin and harpsichord in A major, BWV 1015
The Bach Hour is Vladimir Spivakov's favorite chamber program. He premiered it alongside his colleagues 13 years ago at the Colmar International Music Festival and then has played it many a time in Moscow and other cities from Saint-Petersburg to Tyumen, from Mogilev to Berlin. It features arias from Cantatas and the Mass in A major as well as a Sonata for violin and harpsichord. According to the maestro all the works belong to the realm of spiritual life and that is why he has chosen the Bach Hour program (subtitled “Man, love the world”) every time he has taken part in charity projects: whether a children hospice home erection or a monastery reconstruction.
Vladimir Spivakov will be joined by soprano Anastasia Belukova from the Novaya Opera Theatre and the NPR's soloists Timur Pirverdiev (violin), Pyotr Gladysh (cello) and Zoya Abolits (harpsichord). Along with playing his priceless Stradivari violin, the maestro will recite the Russian translations of the texts ahead of each aria so that the audience could appreciate the pieces in full.
'The texts of the Cantatas are the words we are all in need of now, - says Spivakov. - Bach thought that the music he wrote was dictated to him by God himself and he only put it in notes. All my life I have seen almost every work by Bach as a prayer. It must be remembered that Bach marked his largest opuses by S.D.G letters (Soli Deo Gloria – Glory to God Alone). And today we can repeat these words, render the scores and come closer to the mystery of Bach's music.'