Concert
Opening
The People United Will Never Be Defeated
Frederic Rzewski & Horaţiu Rădulescu (World Premiere)
Piano keys © Christopher Smith
“The People United Will Never Be Defeated” – this message inaugurates MaerzMusik 2019, carried by Sergio Ortega's iconic melody, which has made this anthem of the Chilean resistance known around the world. A message which bears new relevance today.
In 1975, the American composer and pianist Frederic Rzewski (*1938) put the song in the centre of a large piece of piano variations: one of the most impressive piano compositions of the last century, performed by the composer himself.
The second part of the opening concert is dedicated to a rarely performed master of spectral music, Horaţiu Rădulescu (1942–2008). With “Clepsydra” MaerzMusik presents a work for 16 performers with „Sound Icons“, piano-turned-string-instruments that were invented by Rădulescu himself. An entrancing sonic plasma, whose timelessness contrasts suggestively with the precise organization of Rzewski’s piano opus.
Programme
Frederic Rzewski
The People United Will Never Be Defeated
36 Variations on “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido”
for piano (1975)
Horațiu Rădulescu
Clepsydra
for 16 players with Sound Icons, op. 47 (1981/82)
World premiere of the original version
Cast
Frederic Rzewski – piano
Johnny Chang, Sam Dunscombe, Rama Gottfried, Judith Hamann, Francis Heery, Rebecca Lane, Alexandra Lorenz, Karen Lorenz, Andrea Neumann, Michiko Ogawe, James Rushford, Julie Sassoon, Carlos Sandoval, Evelyn Saylor, Ernst Surberg, Stellan Veloce – players Sound Icons
Sam Dunscombe and Ernst Surberg – conductors
Carlos Sandoval – Preparation and tuning of the instruments
With the support of PIANOCENTER BERLIN