Programme:
Debussy. Three Nocturnes
Stravinsky. Suite from the ballet „Firebird“
Prokofiev. Concerto for piano and orchestra no.2, op.16

At the final concert of Piano 2018, the festival’s art director Sten Lassmann will be performing Sergei Prokofiev’s monumental Piano Concerto No. 2, which is regarded as one of the most complex pieces in the entire piano literature. Additionally, two of the pivotal orchestra pieces that influenced 20th century music will also be performed – Debussy’s „Nocturnes“ and Igor Stravinsky’s suite from the ballet „The Firebird“. Debussy’s „Nocturnes“ is the first multiple-part orchestra work that is harmonically and formally completely free from the late romantic dead end, pioneering a new sound aesthetic. Stravinsky wrote the fantastic „Firebird“ for the commission of the legendary impresario Sergei Diaghilev – their further collaboration produced works like „Petrushka“ and „The Rite of Spring“ – and its première in 1910 in Paris kicking off Stravinsky’s international career.