Patricia Kopatchinskaja / Fazıl Say
Thursday
20
March
2025
19:30
Großer Saal
Presented by
Wiener Konzerthausgesellschaft
Unconventional and devoted
Rarely do two such extroverted and non-conformist artists come together to form such a harmonious duo as Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Fazıl Say. Their first CD together ten years ago caused a sensation because it made it clear that two musicians were taking a stand against the homely melodiousness of classical music and highlighting what was revolutionary about it. Their completely unconventional interpretation of Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata, for example, was nothing short of sensational. It was composed for the virtuoso George Bridgetower. When the violinist, who had traveled from England, premiered the sonata, in which the violin played an unprecedentedly important role, at 8 o'clock in the morning (!) at the Augarten Theater in Vienna, Beethoven, who was sitting at the piano, was thrilled by the performance, but the audience was still quite disturbed by it. However, as the composer fell out with Bridgetower, he dedicated the work to the French composer Rodolphe Kreutzer, who never performed it due to his high standards. The concert opens with Szymanowski's violin suite »Myths«, which is influenced by impressionist works and brings mythological figures such as the nymph Arethusa, Narcissus and Pan to life in sound. And finally, the program includes a new work by the performers themselves.