Abstract
Francesco Piemontesi, born and brought up in Locarno, is one of the most outstanding Swiss pianists of our time. Invited to perform by renowned orchestras throughout the world, he will now be giving his first guest appearance with the Philharmonia Zurich. Daniele Rustioni, who most recently conducted Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at Zurich Opera House, will be at the rostrum. The pianist will introduce himself with two works: Mozart’s Rondo in A major KV 386, written in Vienna in 1782, followed by Richard Strauss’s Burlesque for Piano and Orchestra in D minor. Just 21 years old when he wrote the piece, the composer succeeded in creating a mischievously irreverent work full of humour that already anticipates the antics of Till Eulenspiegel and places extreme demands on the soloist.
Dmitri Shostakovich’s classically structured Fifth Symphony was a reaction to the Stalin regime’s scathing criticism of the composer’s work: his opera Lady Macbeth of Minsk having been condemned as «chaos rather than music» in 1936, the composer’s Fifth was, by contrast, a great popular success. Its tumultuous, jubilant finale was understood as a glorification of the regime. However, the jubilation is forced. Despite its apparent conformity, the symphony is characterised by vehement inner resistance and a profound sense of resignation.