Chief Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic since October 2015, Edward Gardner is today joined by Canadian pianist Louis Lortie for a morning of music from Saint-Sa毛ns and Berg.
Opening this morning is Saint-Sa毛ns鈥檚 first piano concerto 鈥� written when the composer was a mere 23 years of age. This is the first piano concerto ever written by an important French composer. Saint-Sa毛ns recalled at the end of his life that it had been inspired by the Fontainebleau Forest, and, whilst sadly neglected, its unclouded optimism and youthful vigour make this performance a rare treat.
To close the concert, we hear symphonic pieces from Alban Berg's operatic swansong, Lulu, one of the 20th Century鈥檚 most significant, if not unfinished, operas that centres on its iconic 鈥榖ad girl鈥� 鈥� a fatally irresistible protagonist.