Kremerata Baltica and Lucas Debargue

Performers: Lucas Debargue (piano), Chamber Orchestra Kremerata Baltica

Programme:

Part I
Krzysztof Penderecki – Chaconne from the “Polish Requiem” for string orchestra.
Milosz Magin – Piano Concerto Nr. 3.
I. Allegro con fuoco – Allegro apassionato
II. Allegro
III. Presto
IV. Adagio
V. Allegro con fuoco

Part II
Mieczyslaw Weinberg – Piano Quintet Op. 18, arrangement for piano, strings and timpani by Andrei Pushkarev, Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica.
I. Moderato con moto
II. Allegretto
III. Presto
IV. Largo
V. Allegro agitato

The exceptionally talented Lucas Debargue is considered a sensation of piano music in the world of music. He is the laureate of the 15th International Tchaikovsky Competition, as well as winner of the Critics' Prize of the Moscow Music Critics Association. The performance of the pianist became an exceptional phenomenon in the history of the Tchaikovsky Competition. He started to learn piano at the age of 11 and only decided to become a professional musician at the age of 20. Currently Debargue performs all around the world and is the resident guest artist at the chamber orchestra Kremerata Baltica.

Three different signatures of Polish composers from the 20th century will be performed at the concert. Krzysztof Penderecki has been named Poland's greatest living composer and is one of the most famous modern composers globally. His music is based on a heartfelt and immediate message. Like an apocalypse with a ray of enlightenment. Chaconne for the strings, from the Penderecki Polish Requiem, is a tribute to Pope John Paul II who died in 2005.

Milosz Magin was a Polish pianist of the 20th century and renowned interpreter of Chopin’s music, with a rich legacy of compositions.  Although his music is less known, Magin is considered a distinguished composer of the 20th century.  Magin’s Piano Concerto No. 3 is emotionally loaded, where the music is constantly trying to reach the presence of the light in the premonitory world of darkness. 

The voluminous Mieczysław Weinberg Piano Quintet is like an echo of its era, approaching the audience with the clarity of neoclassicism and unyielding power. A true treasure of chamber music, where the rich scale of nuances incorporates supple finesses, expressive richness and emotional directness.

Lucas Debargue started to learn music at the age of 11; at 15 he abandoned it because of literature; and at the age of 19 he returned to the piano and enrolled in a conservatory. During recent years, Debargue has had hundreds of sold-out concerts and recorded several solo albums in the music label ’Sony Classical’. After his participation in the 15th Tchaikovsky Competition in 2015 everyone was only talking about him, and many considered him the true winner of the competition.  The unique talent of the musician, his creative freedom, inimitable freshness of interpretations, ability to create exceptionally vivid characters and express the finest nuances of the thoughts of the composer, surprised and thrilled both the audience and critics. Prestigious agency CAMI (Columbia Artists Management Inc.) immediately entered into an agreement with Lucas Debargue and he developed a bright and intensive global career – after the Tchaikovsky Competition he performed in Russia, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, the USA and Chile. The pianist performs both as a solo artist and together with renowned orchestras and composers such as Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Fedoseev, Vladimir Jurowski and Andrey Boreyko. 

In 1997, the legendary Austrian Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival witnessed a small revolution: renowned, outstanding violinist Gidon Kremer introduced the world to a completely new orchestra — chamber orchestra Kremerata Baltica — with musicians from the Baltic countries: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.  With its rich sounding, energetic and joyful performance the orchestra conquered the hearts of the sophisticated audience and brought another kind of life to the festival.

The Kremerata Baltica educational project, with long-term goals, was the gift of Kremer to himself on his 50th birthday. It is a way of the genius passing his knowledge on to new musicians and inspiring musical growth in this region, without compromising artistic and professional standards. During its existence this group of talented musicians has evolved into one of the best international chamber orchestras in the world and earned an impeccable reputation, performing in the world’s most important concert halls with excellent musicians on a regular basis.