Peter Eötvös 1944–2024
Speaking Drums – 4 poems by Jayadeva & Sándor Weöres for solo percussion & orchestra
Gustav Mahler 1860–1911
Symphony Nr. 5 in C sharp minor
Alexej Gerassimez percussion
Thomas Guggeis conductor
10am pre-concert talk in main auditorium by Ulrike Kienzle
buy tickets for this concert HERE
It ain't easy to speak while you're playing an instrument, without getting stuck or losing the rhythm. Jazz musicians sometimes can. ‘Speaking Drums’ takes another approach with the drummer speaking rhythmic syllables, passing the rhythm on to his instrument, teaching it to speak, so to speak, until it can alone. The first two movements are based on three poems by Sándor Weöres, and the third on a poem by Jayadeva. An unusual work to look forward by the Hungarian composer Peter Eötvös, who died last year, and Alexej Gerassimez, who returns for another concert in this series this season.
Much has been interpreted into Mahler's Fifth. After the ‘Wunderhorn’ world got lost, it attempts to ‘reshape the world from one's own self’. What is undisputed is that the 5th, in contrast to earlier symphonies with vocals, can only be interpreted as a purely instrumental work in its own right. The work achieved world fame after the 4th movement was used in Luchino Visconti's film of Thomas Mann's Death in Venice, in the 1970s.
And our percussionists get the chance to shine!
