"In this masterpiece, Rodríguez marks with delicious expressiveness its differences and contrasts while maintaining a perfect balance in the inseparable fusion between form and content. The truth is that the wisdom of Rodriguez’s interpretation provides a universal dimension of romantic pianism".
Marçal Borotau. Sonograma Magazine
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We will be treated to two of the major and most striking pieces in piano literature. One of these pieces is Chopin's Funeral March Sonata No.2, Op.35 in B-flat minor. This work, which Chopin began in 1837 and completed during his first year spent at the house of George Sand in Nohant, France, in 1839, was published in 1840. In this work, Chopin aimed to create something quite different: a new kind of sonata, albeit based on the old form. Essentially, he used the sonata genre as a framework within which the achievements of his earlier music—such as the Études, Preludes, Nocturnes, and even his dance pieces—could be drawn together in a synthesis. The range of emotions in this work is vast, encompassing eeriness, relentlessness, and a sense of imploring, desperation, and compassion.
The second half of the concert will be devoted to another monumental composition, "Pictures at an Exhibition" by Mussorgsky. For the opening of the programme there will be a piece by Teresa Carreño. This concert promises a journey through a rich tapestry of emotions and styles, showcasing the brilliance of both Chopin's and Mussorgsky's masterpieces, as well as the vibrant compositions of Carreño. |
Programme
Teresa Carreño
Elegy No.2, Op.18 Frédéric Chopin Second piano Sonata Op.35 (Funeral March) - Interval - Modest Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition “Clara Rodriguez provides performances of alluring vivacity allied to that most essential of requisites-charm". |
Clara Rodriguez
Photo: Antolin Sanchez
Clara's website
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‘Venezuelan virtuoso pianist Clara Rodriguez (The Financial Times) has built an enviable international reputation for her innovative programme planning, juxtaposing standard repertoire with works by South American composers. She has commissioned, premièred and is the dedicatee of more than thirty works. Her playing stands out for its sheer beauty of tone, high expressiveness, sensitivity considerable digital clarity combined with stylistic acumen.’ At seventeen she was awarded the Teresa Carreño Scholarship to pursue studies at The Royal College of Music with Phyllis Sellick, where she received numerous awards including the Scarlatti Prize, the Mozart Prize, and the Percy Buck Award, as a finalist in the Chappell Prize. In Caracas, at eighteen she made her orchestral debut with Mozart's Piano Concerto K.595 with the Simón Bolívar Orchestra conducted by José Antonio Abreu; her London debut in 1985 was at St. John’s Smith Square, playing Ravel’s Concerto in G.
Clara Rodriguez’s solo career has earned her great acclaim in UK, France, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Venezuela, the United States, India, Egypt, Syria, and Tunisia. In London, she is a hugely popular performer who regularly plays in recitals and as a concerto soloist in the most prestigious halls including the Southbank Centre, Wigmore Hall, Barbican Centre, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, St. James’s Piccadilly, St John’s Smith Square, Leighton House, Bolívar Hall and the 1901 Arts Club. She is invited to play concertos with the worldwide acclaimed Simón Bolívar Orchestra, including memorably in the Grandes Virtuosos del Piano Festival, performing Reynaldo Hahn’s Piano Concerto alongside other participants including Paul Badura-Skoda and Chick Corea. Clara Rodriguez is often interviewed by the BBC; her albums CDs feature regularly on BBC Radio stations and in networks worldwide. She has recorded six solo albums for Nimbus Records including the piano works by Moisés Moleiro, Federico Ruiz, Teresa Carreño, Ernesto Lecuona, Venezuela, and Americas without Frontiers. Two more albums include El Cuarteto with Clara Rodriguez Live, and Frederic Chopin on the Ulysses Arts label. Represented by Dominic Seligman Agency, Clara Rodriguez regularly plays recitals at Arundells, the Salisbury home of former Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath. As a pedagogue her students have been awarded numerous prizes in competitions and scholarships to leading universities and music conservatoires, with successful public concerts at Wigmore Hall, the Albert Hall’s Elgar Room and venues throughout the UK. She teaches at the Royal College of Music junior department and is an international adjudicator. Clara Rodriguez has been awarded the ‘Classical Music Act’ LUKAS Prize 2015, has been made an honorary member of the Chelsea Arts Club and has been named ‘Woman of the Year’ by the main newspapers and magazines of Venezuela. She is the editor of Clifton Editions’ rapidly growing series Venezuelan Treasures for Piano, Clifton Editions, distributed by Stainer & Bell. Artists and orchestras she has performed with include clarinettist and conductor Michael Collins, BBC Symphony Orchestra leader Stephen Bryant, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar, Sinfónica de Venezuela, Orquesta Filarmónica Nacional de Venezuela, Orquesta Municipal de Caracas, Orquesta Sinfónica de Maracaibo, Orquesta Sinfónica Francisco de Miranda, Orquesta Sinfónica Juan José Landaeta, Phoenix Orchestra, Orquesta de Aragua, Fulham Symphony Orchestras, Camden Symphony Orchestra, conductors Jordi Mora, Marc Dooley, Levon Parikian, Christopher Adey, Eduardo Rahn, Teresa Hernández, Carlos Riazuelo, Alfredo Rugeles, Rodolfo Saglimbeni, Luis Miguel González-Fuentes, Régulo Stabilito, Telésforo Naranjo and Jesús Uzcátegui. |