Funeral

When I first heard Beethoven’s Sonata No. 15 in D Major, op. 28, the “Pastoral”, it immediately conquered my heart. The swaying, deeply resounding, velvety bass notes and the tender theme in the right hand continue to produce a melodious sense of well-being in me to this day. A series of slow, melodious arches alternating with incisive, characteristic insertions create the general mood in the first movement.

Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata and Chopin's Piano Sonata in B flat minor are not only among the most demanding, but also the most visionary works in piano history.

Imants Zemzaris (born 14 April 1951) is a Latvian composer and teacher. Among his compositions are chamber and vocal music, as well as music for theatre and movies. He is also an interpreter of his own piano music

Imants Zemzaris (born 14 April 1951) is a Latvian composer and teacher. Among his compositions are chamber and vocal music, as well as music for theatre and movies. He is also an interpreter of his own piano music

‘Funeral For Justice’ is the new album by Mdou Moctar. Recorded at the close of two years spent touring the globe following the release of 2019 breakout ‘Afrique Victime,’ it captures the Nigerien quartet in ferocious form. The music is louder, faster, and more wild.

Imants Zemzaris (born 14 April 1951) is a Latvian composer and teacher. Among his compositions are chamber and vocal music, as well as music for theatre and movies. He is also an interpreter of his own piano music

2018 will be branded as “Gewandhausjahr”: Gewandhausorchester celebrates its 275th birthday and the inauguration of Andris Nelsons as new Gewandhauskapellmeister.

Music is about singing, dancing, life, and death. These are the kinds of things I learned from my teacher and mentor, the incredible Ukrainian pianist Mikhail (Misha) Alperin. Misha turned my world upside down from the moment we met. I was 19 then, and he continued to have a huge influence on me ever since. We didn't see each other very often in later years, but every time we did, I was filled with energy and inspiration. And in every meeting, he said at least one little thing that I would think about for months afterwards, whether it was during a brief conversation in the academy hallway, or a two-hour monologue in his office. He was intense. He celebrated life and love. He was singing, dancing and certainly living through his music. His death has left a void in our world that can never be filled, and he is sorely missed.

Beyond the celebrated ‘Funeral March’, Chopin’s Second and Third Sonatas testify to their composer’s astounding ease in musical structures on a much larger scale than waltzes, nocturnes – and mazurkas, such as the three that make up his op.63, cunningly used here to frame Javier Perianes’s latest musical project.

“Beethoven was my idol and my mentor”