Saturday 29 June, St Saviour’s Church, St Albans
Saariaho, Forty Heartbeats
Sibelius, The Dryad
Liszt, Piano Concerto No. 2 in A; soloist – Bradley Ng
Smetana, Ma Vlast, mvnt 4 – Z českých luhů a hájů (From Bohemia’s Woods and Fields)
Janacek, arr. Vaclav Talich, Suite – The Cunning Little Vixen
An honour to perform Saariaho’s gift to Esa-Pekka Salonen and Magnus Lindberg (for their 40th birthdays) as we paid tribute to her, just over a year after her passing (2 June 2023). A thrilling level of attention in the playing, and in our audience. Here are the titles of the 12 movements which can be played in any order and repeated. We chose to play One beat for a good night’s sleep with one beat in slow motion again at the end.
First beat for being born;
Two beats for two daughters;
Three beats for three composers;
Five beats for surrounding nature;
Four beats for two times two sisters;
Four beats for three friends;
Five beats for surrounding cities;
Three beats for two instruments;
One beat for a good night’s sleep with one beat in slow motion;
One beat for life in us;
Five beats for life surrounding us;
Five beats for life force
The nature/woodland theme continued in the other works. Then the Liszt, like a bonfire in a clearing, warmed everyone with its heart-on-sleeve ardour and fierce story-telling. Huge thanks to Bradly Ng for his inspirational playing.