The Martha Agerich Concert on 24th of July, 2024, is now online. Tickets can be ordered here
CONCERT FOR TWO PIANOS: The evening begins with the Sonata in D major KV 448 by Wolfgang Amadé MOZART, a very extensive work that is often regarded as the first major opus in piano literature for two pianos. A rondo for four hands, composed by the youthful SCHUBERT for four hands (D 608), follows. After the break, an exciting new take on a major work of 19th-century Russian symphony will be performed: THE NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN by MODEST MUSSORGSKY in a transcription for two pianos by Jura Margulis, which he made in 1998, since then frequently with Martha Argerich and recorded it for CD in Lugano in 2014 (available from Steingraeber). The concert ends in Russian[-French] with the Fantaisie (Tableaux) op. 5 by Sergei RACHMANINOV.
MARTHA ARGERICH became famous and celebrated worldwide at a young age for her expressive, spirited interpretations. As a cosmopolitan, she combines the influences of her Argentinian homeland with the Russian origins of her ancestors and her decades-long residency as a Swiss. For around 20 years she has concentrated on making music with friends, partners and orchestras. She has been friends with Jura Margulis for a long time.
JURA MARGULIS, German pianist of Russian origin, grew up in Freiburg in a family of musicians, was first a piano professor in the USA and now in Vienna; at Steingraeber he initiated a revival of the “Sordino pedal” on concert grands, a sound option used on grand pianos up to ca. 1840 and then disappeared; today it can be found in all Steingraeber concert grand pianos and will certainly be used on the evening in the Margravial Opera House as a tonal enrichment. The program on July 24 next year reflects the preferences of both artists: they are both famous for their gripping interpretations of Russian piano literature and Viennese classics.
