Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2
Gulbenkian Orchestra
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Date
- / Cancelled / Sold out
Location
Grand Auditorium Calouste Gulbenkian FoundationPricing
50% – Under 30 years old
15% – Over 65 years old
- Conductor
- Piano
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Gulbenkian Orchestra
In 1962, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation decided to establish a permanent orchestral ensemble. Originally with only twelve musicians (strings and continuo) it was named “Orquestra de Câmara Gulbenkian”. This collective was successively enlarged and today the “Orquestra Gulbenkian” (the name it has adopted since 1971) has a permanent body of sixty instrumentalists, a number that can be expanded depending on the repertoire.
This structure allows the Gulbenkian Orchestra to interpret works from the Baroque and Classical periods, a significant part of 19th century orchestral literature and much of the music of the 20th century, including works belonging to the current repertoire of the traditional symphonic orchestras. In each season, the orchestra performs on a regular series of concerts at the Gulbenkian Grand Auditorium in Lisbon, where it has had the opportunity of working together with some of leading names of the world of music (conductors and soloists). It has also performed on numerous locations all over Portugal, in an effort to decentralize music and culture.
The orchestra has been constantly expanding its activities in the international level, performing in Europe, Asia Africa, and the Americas. In the recording field, Orquestra Gulbenkian is associated to labels as Philips, Deutsche Grammophon, Hyperion, Teldec, Erato, Adès, Nimbus, Lyrinx, Naïve and Pentatone, among others, and this activity was recognized with several international prizes.
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Risto Joost
Conductor
The young Estonian conductor Risto Joost excels by his specialized versatility and has gained widespread recognition for his work both in the opera pit and on concert stage. The trained singer and Conductor in Residence of the Estonian National Opera has already held major artistic positions, such as Chief Conductor of the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and Artistic Director of the MDR Leipzig Radio Choir from 2015 to 2019. He succeeded at important competitions and conducted some of the world’s most distinguished orchestras. Since 2020/21 Risto Joost is Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of Theatre Vanemuine Tartu.
Risto Joost is in demand as a guest conductor with orchestras such as Helsinki Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Norwegian Opera Orchestra, Tampere Philharmonic, Tapiola Sinfonietta,Trondheim Symphony, Netherlands Philharmonic, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Dortmund Philharmonic, Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn, Gulbenkian Orchestra & Choir, Prague Radio Symphony, Janacek Philharmonic, Brno Philharmonic, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Teatro la Fenice, Latvian National Symphony, Liepaja Symphony, Estonian National Symphony among others.
In addition he collaborated with the RIAS Kammerchor, SWR Vokalensemble, Rundfunkchor Berlin, Swedish Radio Choir, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir to name a few.
At the Estonian National Opera Risto Joost has led more than 20 premieres. His repertoire ranges from Baroque to the most challenging works of contemporary composers. At the Birgitta Festival Tallinn he led La Bohème in 2018.
Forthcoming highlights are his debuts with Bavarian State Opera Orchestra Munich, Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen, Philharmonie Zuidnederland, Kristiansand Symphony (Don Giovanni) and engagements to Slovenian Philharmonic & Choir, Gulbenkian Orchestra & Choir, WKO Heilbronn, Jyväskylä Sinfonia, Liepaja Symphony, Janacek Philharmonic etc.
At Theatre Vanemuine he conducts the premiere of Tonis Kaumann: The Mall as well as revivals of Tristan und Isolde, Don Giovanni, Madame Butterfly, Donizetti: Linda di Chamounix among others.
Risto Joost’s discography includes three albums by Tõnu Korvits: You are Light and Morning (Sei la luce e il mattino) with Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Hymns to the Nordic Lights with Estonian National Symphony as well as Moorland Elegies (all Ondine).
Furthermore it contains works by Haydn with Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Peeter Vähi with Latvian National Symphony, Arvo Pärt with Netherlands Chamber Orchestra & Netherlands Chamber Choir.
For his artistic activities in Estonia and abroad, Risto Joost received the music award of the Cultural Foundation in Estonia in 2016 and was awarded the Young Cultural Figure Award of the Estonian Republic in 2011. He was Prizewinner of the Malko Conducting Competition 2015 and Jorma Panula Conducting Competition 2012.
Risto Joost has studied at the Estonian Academy of Music and received further training at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. In 2008, Risto Joost graduated from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm with a Masters Degree, majoring in orchestral conducting with Jorma Panula.
He founded the chamber choir Voces Musicales/Voces Tallinn in Estonia in 1999 and has been Artistic Director of the Birgitta Festival Tallinn in 2017 and 2018.
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Alexandra Dovgan
Piano
Alexandra Dovgan was born in 2007 into a family of musicians and began her piano studies when she was four and a half years of age. At the age of five, her talent emerged when she passed the extremely competitive selections to join the Academic Central Music School of Moscow State Conservatory, where she is currently studying under renowned teacher Mira Marchenko.
Alexandra is a prize winner at five international competitions, among them Moscow International Vladimir Krainev Piano Competition, International Young Pianists Competition “Astana Piano Passion”, International Television contest for young musicians "The Nutcracker". Alexandra was only 10 years old when she won the Grand Prix at the II International “Grand Piano Competition” (artistic director Denis Matsuev). The recordings of this event have travelled the world on Medici.TV and YouTube, moving musicians and piano lovers all around the globe.
Despite her young age, Alexandra has already made her debut in some of the most prestigious concert halls: in 2018 she opened the Mariinsky International Piano Festival with Denis Matsuev and Valery Gergiev in St. Petersburg. In 2019 she made her first appearance at the Philharmonie in Berlin and at the Great Hall of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, within Marco Riaskoff’s Meesterpianisten Series, receiving a standing ovation and enthusiastic reviews by the press. In July 2019, she impressed critics and public alike with a highly acclaimed recital at Salzburg Festival. A triumphal recital at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris in November ended this remarkable year.
Despite the pandemic, in Autumn 2020 Alexandra Dovgan performed a series of impressive concerts. In October she returned to Salzburg to play with the Mozarteum Orchestra under the baton of Trevor Pinnock, in Ljubliana with Slovenska Filharmonija under Philipp von Steinaecker and in Lugano with Orchestra Svizzera Italiana conducted by François Leleux.
In June 2021 Gustavo Dudamel has invited her to play Beethoven Concerto n. 2 in Burgos with Mahler Chamber Orchestra.
Spontaneous depth and consciousness along with a sound of incredible beauty and precision are the distinguishing characteristics of Alexandra’s pianism. You will not find any element of showing off or technical demonstration in her piano playing but an impressive concentration combined with purity of expression and a creative imagination. She possesses a charismatic presence on stage and a distinct personality.
Away from the piano, Alexandra loves skiing, playing the organ, learning ballet, mathematics and spending time with her little brother.
Jean Sibelius
En Saga, op. 9
Fryderyk Chopin
Piano Concerto No. 2, in F minor, op. 21
— Intermission 20 min —
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 7, in A major, op. 92
After sparkling debuts during the last Gulbenkian Música season, conductor Risto Joost and pianist Alexandra Dovgan return to the Grand Auditorium to join the Gulbenkian Orchestra in their interpretation of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2. The subject of the highest praise from Grigory Sokolov, who predicts a great future for her, Alexandra Dovgan is, still in her teens, one of the world’s greatest pianistic talents. Trevor Pinnock, another of his admirers, says Dovgan “discovers a natural affinity with the compositions she performs, imbuing the music with stillness, splendour and breath”.
Sponsor Gulbenkian Music
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