Repertoire

Joan Lamote de Grignon: Hispàniques: Catalunya, glosa dramàtica d’una cançó popular
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2, Op. 18
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4, Op. 36

Artists

Barcelona Symphony Orchestra
Josep Caballé Domenech, conductor
Marc Heredia, piano

Programme

This concert will bring together two of the most iconic names of Late Romanticism to offer an intense and coherent experience of the emotional style of the period. After three years of creative block, Sergei Rachmaninoff returned to the stage with his Piano Concerto No. 2. The piece begins with an orchestral introduction that sets up the central drama, followed by dialogues between the piano and the orchestra. It displays a virtuoso technique, with arpeggios and passages of great harmonic density, all brought together with lyrical themes that reappear with slight differences to create an overarching coherence.

In Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, the concept of fate is explored in a first movement dominated by a theme that will relentlessly reappear at the end. Tchaikovsky constructs a vibrant symphonic edifice, with moments of great lyricism in the composition for winds and strings, and turbulent passages that reflect existential tension. The second and third movements alternate between serene melodies and intense expressiveness, laying the groundwork for the orchestral explosion of the finale, which showcases individuals’ ability to overcome, albeit temporarily, the inescapable forces of destiny.