Karina Canellakis conductor
Alice Sara Ott piano

Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36
Intermission
Maurice Ravel
Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D major
Richard Strauss
Tod und Verklärung, symphonic poem, Op. 24

With his Symphony No. 2 in D major, Beethoven salutes the birth of the 19th century in a way, taking leave of his master Haydn while learning his lesson. Called a “rough-hewn monster” by an outdated critic, it opens up a new world of sound that still shakes us.
With the Concerto pour la main gauche, Maurice Ravel, a great admirer of Richard Strauss, leaves a strongly expressionist black diamond, accompanied by an incredible tour de force. If you close your eyes, you will have the impression of hearing the pianist’s ten fingers and even more!
The power of the Straussian orchestra bursts forth in Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration), a symphonic poem born in the exalted imagination of a brilliant 24-year-old composer without any personal or literary references, with “the only desire to write a piece that begins in C minor and ends in C major,” he would later say jokingly.

Approximatively 1h40 including a 20 min. intermission