Dreams of Light

Edward Elgar: Introduction and Allegro, Op. 47
Sally Beamish: Piano Concerto No. 1 “Hill Stanzas”
Johannes van Bree: Allegro for four string quartets
W.A. Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 9 in E flat major, K. 271 ‘Jeunehomme’

This concert brings together four works that shed light on the relationship between the solo voice and the ensemble in very different ways.

Edward Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro creates a sense of tension within the string section right from the start. The work thrives on the alternation between tutti and smaller groups, on the emergence of individual lines and on the subsequent reuniting of the full sound. Elgar draws on the idea of the concerto grosso, creating music that generates energy from within the ensemble.

Next, the focus shifts to a contemporary work: the piano concerto ‘Hill Stanzas’ by the British composer Sally Beamish. Beamish wrote it for Ronald Brautigam. The music does not follow a purely virtuosic logic, but unfolds its own dramaturgy through sound, atmosphere and movement. The piano takes centre stage, yet remains constantly connected to the orchestra, as part of a larger musical context.

Johannes van Bree’s ‘Allegro’ for four string quartets once again draws attention to the strings. The piece thrives on the interplay of small units, the interweaving of the parts and a fluidity that arises entirely from its chamber-music structure. The sound remains transparent and derives its tension precisely from this.

The programme concludes with Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9 in E flat major, K. 271, the so-called ‘Jeunehomme’ Concerto. Here, Mozart defies the expectations of his time from the very outset. The piano makes its entrance with unusual decisiveness; the interplay with the orchestra begins immediately, and it is from this dialogue that the entire work derives its particular freshness. In this programme, Ronald Brautigam appears not only as a soloist, but as the central figure of an evening that repeatedly brings to life the relationship between the individual and the collective, between the present and the past.