11 May 2018, 7pm
Duration: 2 hours
Price: €10,00 - €25,00
Venue: Vilnius Congress Hall (Vilniaus Str. 6-1, Vilnius)
Cello Mischa Maisky
Orchestra Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Gintaras Rinkevičius

O. Respighi. Adagio with Variations for Cello and Orchestra

P. Tchaikovsky. Variations on a Rococo Theme for Cello and Orchestra, op. 33

G. Mahler. Symphony No. 1 in D major (“The Titan”)

 

During the closing concert of the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra’s season the audience shall be presented with a unique opportunity of meeting the legendary, world-famous cellist Mischa Maisky. At the age of 17 he was referred to as the Rostropovich of the future, and Maisky fulfilled these expectations very successfully. “In his music one can find a perfect combination of poetry, refined subtlety, massive temperament and flawless technique“, – said maestro Mstislav Rostropovich, whom Maisky calls not only a wonderful teacher, but also his second father. Born in Riga, the cellist is the only musician who studied with two legendary masters of cello – Rostropovich and Gregor Piatigorsky. Maisky is a very welcome guest at the biggest and most important concert halls in London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Tokyo. In 1974, after his debut at the prestigious “Carnegie Hall” in New York, an anonymous admirer gave Maisky a unique Italian 18th-century Domenico Montagnana cello on which he still performs today.   

 

The first part of the concert shall offer a performance of Italian composer Ottorino Respighi’s (1879-1936) Variations for Cello and Orchestra – a piece characteristic of classical form and romantically sorrowful expression, which will be followed by P. Tchaikovsky’s (1840-1893) Variations on a Rococo Theme. The latter is composer’s most popular piece for cello and orchestra, filled with refined ornamentation and demanding impeccable technique. During the second part of the concert we shall hear Austrian composer Gustav Mahler’s (1860-1911) Symphony No. 1 for a large orchestra, in which Mahler merged together the imagery and plotline of a symphonic poem with classical symphony structure. Such ambitious choice changed the genre of symphony forever.   

 

During the closing evening of the season the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra shall be conducted by its founder, artistic director and chief conductor, laureate of the Lithuanian National Prize maestro Gintaras Rinkevičius.