Gods Among Men
20:00 Fri 16 Apr 2027 Royal Northern College of Music
Programme
- Eros Piano
- Young Apollo
- Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat Major, K 271, ‘Jeunehomme’
Performers
- Pavel Kolesnikovpiano
Kolesnikov performs Mozart
‘He stands before us—the new dazzling Sun-god, quivering with radiant vitality.’ – John Keats
Eros, god of love, meets Apollo, god of light and music. In Keats’s epic poem Hyperion, Apollo emerges as a new, awesome force, something Britten’s early work embodies: it’s a focused succession of brilliant flourishes, the soloist racing up and down the piano at speed over fanfaric trumpets and percussive strings.
Britten’s brilliance sharpens the woozier, dreamier world painted by John Adams. On a memorable visit to Adams’s home, Toru Takemitsu and Adams discovered a shared love for the jazz piano of Bill Evans. Adams transports us to a quiet, passionate, intimate conversation, conducted at 3AM, somewhere.
To conclude: Mozart’s ‘Jeunehomme’ Piano Concerto, completed when the composer was just 21 years old – a sparkling classical masterpiece, full of life and energy.
Pavel Kolesniko. Photo: Eva Vermandel
