Peter Donohoe at Malvern Theatres
For tonight’s programme the ESO are taking the audience on a tour of the Nordic region, with a little sojourn to Athens along the way…
In the Winter of 1903, Nielsen found himself overlooking the Aegean Sea in Athens, following a grant his wife received to make copies of the bas-reliefs in Athens. Although the piece was clearly inspired by the tranquility of his surroundings, specifically the warm sun, which made him think of the ancient Greek myth of the god Helios, who carried the sun across the sky in a chariot. Nielsen was deeply uncomfortable with the concept of ‘program music’ and felt that music should tell its own story without the need for a detailed narrative. So much so that he wrote to a composer friend Thomas Laub for reassurance on the matter…
The opening motif to Grieg’s Piano Concerto is instantly recognisable and this particular three-note motif is not only a prominent feature in Norwegian folk music but also part of Grieg’s musical DNA throughout his compositions. The soloist for this performance is one of the foremost pianists of our time, Peter Donohoe.
All Finnish composers, to a certain extent, live in the shadow of Sibelius, whose influence and impact on the 20th century symphony is significant. His sixth symphony is very unique, it doesn’t have a clear-cut key or tonal centre. It moves through D Dorian, often found in old church music and folk songs, and this gives the work a mysterious and otherworldly quality.
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