“Beethoven has always been a lifelong task for me,” observes Maurizio Pollini. For that reason he has remained “intensely preoccupied with his music, perhaps more than with that of any other composer.” Over the course of two summer festivals, through his new series titled Pollini Perspectives, the great pianist will explore Beethoven’s middle- and late-period piano sonatas—while also juxtaposing them with new works by Giacomo Manzoni, Salvatore Sciarrino, and Helmut Lachenmann that have been specially commissioned for his Lucerne appearances. “I have found great pleasure in conceiving and planning concerts that break out of our conventional patterns. Such programs also reflect my curiosity about a kind of music that lies beyond my ‘normal’ profession.”
According to Pollini, Beethoven “was an extraordinarily innovative, revolutionary composer in his time.” An example he cites is Beethoven’s “anti-conformist” use of the pedal, which often “is to be sustained over long stretches, resulting in a blending of harmonies… That generates powerful tensions, which is indeed what Beethoven wanted.” For his Lucerne performances, Pollini will bring Beethoven sonatas face to face with contemporary scores—a concept which he has explored repeatedly since the 1970s—and in the process clearly underline two fascinating ideas: namely, both the impulse to experiment found in “classical” composers and the connections and continuities of contemporary music. Launching the Pollini Perspectives series is the program of 17 August, which features the “Appassionata” and “Waldstein,” two Beethoven sonatas that are both popular are path-breaking; these will be paired with “Il rumore del tempo,” a new song cycle by the eminent Italian composer Giacomo Manzoni based on poems by Alexander Blok, Georg Trakl, and others. The soloist for the vocal part is Anna Prohaska, one of the new stars in the soprano firmament.
The enthusiastic response that Pollini’s interplay of classical and contemporary compositions can stir became clear in the reaction to his piano matinee recital last summer, for which Pollini combined works by Chopin and Debussy with Pierre Boulez’s intricately complex Second Piano Sonata of 1947. The audience gave him a standing ovation, continuing their applause several minutes. So we’re looking forward to this master pianist’s next ear-opening adventure with excitement!
11 August 2011