First symphonic concert of the Autumn Season: Dmitry Matvienko, 7 September 2024
The lights are turned back on at the May Theater and September programming kicks off.
The first date is Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 at 8 p.m.
Starring on the podium of the Mehta Hall, conducting the Maggio Orchestra, Dmitry Matvienko, making his Maggio debut.
On the bill are compositions by Sergei Rachmaninov and Sergei Prokofiev.
Soloist for the evening, on piano, Giovanni Bertolazzi, who will play the “Borgato Grand Prix 333,” the longest concert grand piano ever made and the only one in existence in the world.
Firenze, 3 settembre 2024 – On Saturday, September 7, at 8 p.m., the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino's fall programming kicks off: the first symphonic concert is in the Zubin Mehta Hall, with the full debut of maestro Dmitry Matvienko, on the podium conducting the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra. A recent winner of first prizes in the “Guido Cantelli 2020” and the “Malko Competition 2021” competitions, he regularly performs at the helm of such major ensembles as the Svetlanov Symphony, the Russian National Philharmonic, the New Russia State Symphony Orchestra and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra.
On the bill is a program entirely devoted to Russian music: opening the evening is one of Sergei Rachmaninov's best-known pieces, the Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30: composed in 1909 just after he had passed through a complex period for him, it was first performed across the ocean - with the composer himself as soloist - by the New York Symphony Orchestra conducted by Walter Damrosch, on Nov. 28 of that year.
Soloist at the piano during the performance was the young and talented Giovanni Bertolazzi: after training at the Conservatory of Venice, he has won numerous important prizes, such as 2nd place at the prestigious “Franz Liszt” International Competition in Budapest, the “Ferruccio Busoni” in Bolzano, the “Sigismund Thalberg” in Naples and the “Guglielmina Durini Litta” International Piano Prize; he has also been featured at Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Palazzo del Quirinale in Rome, Sala Verdi at the Conservatory of Milan and Teatro Politeama Garibaldi in Palermo.
A point of interest for this concert is also marked by the instrument played by Giovanni Bertolazzi: the Borgato Grand Prix 333. The number, which is not random, in fact represents the overall length of the instrument, 3.33 meters (the average for a concert grand is 2.20/2.80), making it de facto the longest concert grand piano ever. Made by Vicenza-based master Luigi Borgato, the last craftsman to hand-build concert pianos, it consists of a perfect wooden amalgam composed of rosewood for the interior panelling; maple for the bridges; beech as the cushion of the mechanism; hornbeam for the levers; ebony for the black keys; and finally, harmonic spruce. These materials of the highest quality, combined with Borgato's craftsmanship, make the Grand Prix 333 a true jewel, capable of giving the scores an almost 'new' color.
Closing the concert are some of the most famous Suites from Sergei Prokofiev's famous ballet Romeo and Juliet: No. 1 op. 64 bis; No. 2 op. 64 ter; and No. 3 op. 101. Composed soon after his return to the Soviet Union (which took place in 1933, when Prokof'ev was a virtuoso of international concert performance and a highly esteemed composer) between 1935 and the dawn of 1936, the musician faced an undoubtedly thorny cultural, social, and especially political environment: he was considered an example of “an individualistic and withered culture,” and even the tragic ending planned for his ballet was considered inappropriate by the Bol'šoj Theater management. Romeo and Juliet finally premiered at the Mahen Theatre in Brno, Czechoslovakia, only on December 30, 1938, with choreography by Vanja Psota.