(c) Philharmonia Ltd Santtu and Nikolai Lugansky: Royal Festival Hall
London, Southbank Centre — Royal Festival Hall
About the Event
The Philharmonia and their Principal Conductor Santtu pull out all the stops in the finale of their 2024/25 season.
We’re joined by Nikolai Lugansky, the Russian prince of the piano, in Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto. One of the all‐time great interpreters of Rachmaninov, renowned for his ‘quintessentially Russian sound’ (Independent), Lugansky understands this most challenging and rewarding of concertos inside out. All Rachmaninov’s trademarks are there: bittersweet melodies, pianistic fireworks, and lush orchestral writing.
Alborada del gracioso roughly translates as Dawn Song of the Jester. It’s a beguiling short piece with a Spanish flavour, complete with castanets, and a harp imitating the strumming of a guitar. La Valse is an altogether darker affair – Ravel’s deconstruction of a Viennese waltz is said to represent the cataclysmic impact of the First World War.
In Pines of Rome, Respighi uses a huge orchestra to paint four pictures of Rome in thrilling detail: the innocence of children playing, gloomy catacombs, a gentle nocturne, and finally a victorious Roman legion returning home, acclaimed by jubilant brass. Every member of the Philharmonia will be turning the dial up to 11 to bring their 2024/25 season to a roof‐raising close.
‘Lugansky’s passion radiates, and his piano sings and thunders’ (Bachtrack).
Program
- Maurice Ravel – Alborada del gracioso
- Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 30
- Maurice Ravel – La Valse
- Ottorino Respighi – Pines of Rome
Cast / Production
Santtu‐Matias Rouvali – conductor
Nikolai Lugansky – piano
Address
Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, United Kingdom — Google Maps
