Symphonyconcert12

The turn of the century – a historical turning point where perception was sensitised, ready to explode. The Viennese Neue Freie Presse reported in 1902 about the premiere of the string sextet “Verklärte Nacht” penned by young Arnold Schönberg: “some young people in the gallery roared like lions ... Next to the deliberately confused and ugly, there is also music that is moving, stirring, music that vanquishes the listener with irresistible force, music that penetrates the heart and the senses.” The melancholy, luxuriant C minor piano concerto by the “last romantic” Sergei Rachmaninoff was written in Moscow at almost the same time as Edward Elgar’s “Enigma Variations” in England, which are cryptic and humorous: great musical moments full of spirit and abandon – far more than just a farewell to the previous century. That Rachmaninow’s concerto later also made a career as film music is a tribute to its unique melodic and emotional qualities – “music as a commitment to humanity,” as the Russian musicologist Boris Asafiev raved. The soloist at these concerts is the young Frenchman Jean-Frédéric Neuburger, whose playing stands for transparency and depth of focus. Unsentimental, unspectacular, great attention to detail – one who will get to the bottom of Rachmaninoff’s secret.