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Concert for the 25th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Bohuslav Martinů described his Fourth Piano Concerto Incantation from 1956 – his most significant concerto and definitely one of his most significant works – as “the expression of a restless search for truth and the meaning of life, and at the same time an homage to music”. Though the splendidly iridescent orchestral part exudes impressionist charm now and then, the music’s basic mood is bleaker and more threatening; the soloist and tutti arrive at a highly dramatic dialogue of downright Lisztian demonic nature. The highly emotional composition no longer has anything to do with the traditional concert form. Instead, the musical development unfolds in two free movements, beyond symmetry and repetition, as the result of a fascinating metamorphosis of motives.

It’s no wonder that the young Czech pianist Ivo Kahánek selected precisely this rarely heard work to debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker; Sir Simon Rattle will combine it with Beethoven’s Ninth. The symphony’s famous Finale gives a clear answer to conflicts exposed earlier on, first purely instrumentally, then with the precision of language. The “joy” theme goes through an unprecedented intensification, unfolding its glory in dynamics and sound, leading the work to its triumphant conclusion after the Alla marcia section, which is interpolated with a retarding effect. Sally Matthews, Bernarda Fink, Christian Elsner and Hanno Müller-Brachmann make up an internationally renowned ensemble of soloists, supported by the Rundfunkchor Berlin.

BERLIN PHILHARMONIC
Ivo Kahánek, piano
Sally Matthews, soprano
Bernarda Fink, alto
Christian Elsner, tenor
Hanno Müller-Brachmann, baritone
Rundfunkchor Berlin
Sir Simon Rattle, conductor

Program
Bohuslav Martinů: Piano Concerto No. 4 (“Incantation”), H. 358
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, op. 125