FROM BRNO TO KOŠÍC: WEST SIDE STORY, FRIDA KAHLO AND MIŠIMA

  Košice Music Spring 03.06.2025 House of Arts 19:00

Brno Philharmonic
Dennis RUSSELL DAVIES, conductor
Maki NAMEKAWA, piano

Programme:

Leonard Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story 24'
Kurt Schwertsik: Muertes en Relajo, op. 126 22'
Philip Glass / arr. Michael Riesman: Mishima Concerto for piano and orchestra 35'

The American chief conductor of the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra will conduct two works by famous American composers, Leonard Bernstein and Philip Glass, which will be complemented by a composition by Austrian composer Kurt Schwertsik inspired by the diaries of the famous Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. Davies has had or shares a strong artistic and friendly bond with all three composers. Bernstein's iconic composition West Side Story is celebrated not only for its unforgettable songs and great symphonic music, but also for its openness to confront the social ills of the time, such as racial prejudice and violence in cities. Here, the author musically demonstrates his ability to move imaginatively in almost any genre or form.

The title of Austrian composer Kurt Schwertsik's piece Muertes en Relajo literally means Death in Relaxation. In Frida Kahlo's diary, below these words is a picture of three dancing skeletons and a colorful bird flying above them – motifs that appear frequently in the Mexican painter and that Schwertsik's music views with perspective and humor.

The Mishima Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by American composer Philip Glass is based on his music for the biographical film Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, which explores the life and work of the famous Japanese writer Yukio Mishima (1925–1970). Pianist Maki Namekawa's interpretation offers crystal-clear technique and fresh expression that perfectly match Glass's hypnotic music, filled with undulating pulsations.