Rachmaninoff & Mussorgsky

Two monumental masterpieces of impressive orchestral and emotional power bring the Zagreb Philharmonic’s mini-cycle within this year’s Zagreb Classic to a close. Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, a grand work that demands impeccable technique and deep musicality from the soloist, will be interpreted by Polina Osetinskaya, one of the most distinguished pianists of her generation on the global stage and an ideal representative of the Russian piano school, whose performances “always reveal new nuances, even in the most familiar works.”

Mussorgsky’s celebrated Pictures at an Exhibition, in Maurice Ravel’s spectacular orchestration, awaits audiences in the second part of the program, led by acclaimed maestro Nimrod David Pfeffer, a conductor at New York’s Metropolitan Opera and director of the Lírica Opera in Guatemala. Maestro Pfeffer appears on the world’s most prestigious stages, from Berlin and Valencia to San Francisco and St. Petersburg. Critics have described him as a conductor who “lives music with his entire being,” and his performances as “an impressive testament to talent” and “a symphonic hurricane in brilliantly measured waves.”

The Zagreb Philharmonic, an orchestra with more than 150 years of tradition and one of the most enduring symbols of Croatian musical culture, has shaped the artistic life of Zagreb and Croatia for generations. This year, with four festival concerts, it once again confirms its key role in shaping the identity of Zagreb Classic.

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18

Moderato
Adagio sostenuto
Allegro scherzando

***

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky – Maurice Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition

Gnomus
Promenade
The Old Castle
Promenade
Tuileries
Bydlo
Promenade
Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks
Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuÿle
The Market at Limoges
Catacombs: Sepulchrum Romanum
Con mortuis in lingua mortua
The Hut on Fowl’s Legs
The Great Gate of Kiev