Altinoglu, Gubisch, Matsuev, Singverein / Liszt, Prokofiev

The first part of the concert will present both one of Franz Liszt’s most famous works, his Second Piano Concerto, and the least known and last of his symphonic poems, From the Cradle to the Grave. In fact, the Second Piano Concerto resembles very much his symphonic poems in terms of original ideas but also in style and structure. Sergei Prokofiev’s cantata Alexander Nevsky is an adaptation of the film music for the eponymous historical film by Sergei Eisenstein. It tells the story of the Russians’ fight against the Teutonic Knights and their victory in the Battle of the Ice on Lake Peipus by the Russian national hero Alexander Nevsky. The cooperation between Prokofiev and Eisenstein was revolutionary in the sense that the music was not exclusively composed for images already produced but that some scenes were even edited only after the music had been completed.