The Konzerthausorchester and Joana Mallwitz get off to a flying start in this concert: Pianist Francesco Piemontesi is the guest artist for Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, a work full of passion that ranks among the composer’s most popular pieces. He himself performed the New York premiere in 1909 and gave it the nickname “Concerto for Elephants,” as elephants are considered extremely sensitive animals. The piece requires both tremendous technical skill and a very sensitive interpretation of the lyrical passages. In these passages, the composer pays homage to his Russian homeland, from which he would flee eight years later, never to return.

Next on the programme is a short piece by Samy Moussa from 2015. “Crimson” was described as “spectacular and extravagant” following a London performance in 2022. The colourful orchestration continues with the suite from Stravinsky’s celebrated ballet music “The Firebird,” in which the musical language of classical modernism blends with pentatonic and Russian folk melodies.