Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20
Gulbenkian Orchestra / Lorenzo Viotti / Maria João Pires
Performers
- 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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Lorenzo Viotti
Principal Guest Conductor
In his third season as a chief conductor of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Lorenzo Viotti presents five different concert programs at the Concertgebouw, featuring works by Brahms, Verdi, Ravel, Dvořák, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Sibelius, and Schönberg. The orchestra is also planning a tour to Germany and Belgium. As a chief conductor of the Dutch National Opera (DNO), Lorenzo Viotti continues his collaboration with Barrie Kosky in the 2023/2024 season with a new production of Il trittico, completing the Puccini trilogy, which was preceded by successful performances of Turandot and Tosca. He will also conduct his first Wagner opera, Lohengrin, in Amsterdam.
As a guest conductor, Lorenzo Viotti will be involved in numerous concert projects in the upcoming season. He will collaborate with the Vienna Philharmonic for a tour across Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and Monte Carlo. Additionally, he will conduct the Munich Philharmonic, the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra in Japan.
At La Scala in Milan, there is a new production of Simone Boccanegra, directed by Daniele Abbado, on the schedule, and at the Zurich Opera House, Viotti will conduct the revival of his acclaimed production of Die Csárdásfürstin.
Lorenzo Viotti was born into a French-Italian musical family in Lausanne. He studied piano, singing, and percussion in Lyon and attended orchestral conducting courses with Professor Georg Mark in Vienna, where he also performed as a percussionist with various renowned orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic. He completed his conducting studies with Nicolas Pasquet at the Franz Liszt Conservatory in Weimar. Lorenzo Viotti has won several prestigious conducting competitions, including the Nestlé Young Conductors Award at the Salzburg Festival in 2015, the 11th International Conducting Competition of the Orquestra de Cadaqués, and the conducting competition of the MDR Symphony Orchestra. He was the chief conductor of the Gulbenkian Orchestra. In 2017, he received the “Newcomer of the Year” award at the International Opera Awards in London.
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Maria João Pires
Piano
Born on 23 July 1944 in Lisbon, Maria João Pires gave her first public performance at the age of 4 and began her studies of music and piano with Campos Coelho and Francine Benoît, continuing later in Germany, with Rosl Schmid and Karl Engel. In addition to her concerts, she has made recordings for Erato for fifteen years and Deutsche Grammophon for twenty years.
Since the 1970s, she has devoted herself to reflecting the influence of art in life, community and education, trying to discover new ways of establishing this way of thinking in society. She has searched for new ways which, respecting the development of individuals and cultures, encourage the sharing of ideas.
In 1999, she created the Centre for the Belgais Centre for the Study of the Arts in Portugal. Maria João Pires regularly offers interdisciplinary workshops for professional musicians and music lovers. In the Belgais concert hall concerts and recordings regularly take place. In future these will be shared with the international digital community (pay and non-pay).
In 2012, in Belgium, she initiated two complementary projects; the Partitura Choirs, a project which creates and develops choirs for children from disadvantaged backgrounds as in Belgium the „Hesperos Choir, and the Partitura Workshops. All of the Partitura projects have the aim to create an altruistic dynamic between artists of different generations by proposing an alternative in a world too often focused on competitiveness. This philosophy is being spread worldwide at Partitura projects and workshops.
Programme
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra n.º 20, in D minor, K. 466
1. Allegro
2. Romance
3. Rondo: Allegro assai