Eleventh Of January Twenty Twenty Two

On Tuesday 11 January 2022 Pushkin House is hosting a chamber music concert featuring the works of three contemporary composers — Valentin Silvestrov, Sergei Zagny and Georgs Pelēcis.

Valentin Silvestrov describes his music as an echo of something that already exists. This speaks to where we find ourselves in this concert: in a space of evoking the ideals of the past, while dreaming in an ever-unfolding present. In their methods, directions and poetics, the works of each of the composers allude to very particular states: at times melancholic, at others uplifting or mesmerisingly monotonous. What may seem trivial in one moment gradually fades into elegiac familiarity – an inherent and immediate emotiveness built on the foundations of musical tradition.

Curated by Sasha Elina.

PROGRAMME:

Valentin Silvestrov — Kitsch-Music (1977) for piano.
Valentin Silvestrov — Winter Road (on the poem by A. Pushkin), from Silent Songs (1973-77) for voice and piano.
Sergei Zagny — The North (2011) for a number of instruments.
Georgs Pelēcis — New Year’s Music (1996) for piano.

PERFORMERS:

Thomas Ang, piano
Alex Nikiporenko, piano
Sasha Elina, voice, flute
Roxanna Albayati, cello
Cameron Graham, sound assistance