With the return of the Croatian-Austrian pianist Dejan LazicHe Argentine Mozart opens this Monday its 71st concert season at the Colon Theater.
Twenty years after his debut in Buenos Aires and five after his last local performance (again for the Mozarteum), the interpreter and composer proposes a program entitled Viennese rhapsodybringing together works by Mozart (il Fantasia in D minor K. 397 and the Sonata in B flat major K. 333), Beethoven (il Sonata in C sharp minor op. 27 n.2, Moonlight), Schubert (The Shepherd on the Rock), Brahms (il Rhapsodies in B minor and G minor, op. 79) and its own composition, the Istrian-style rhapsody.
Viennese rhapsody
From Amsterdam, where he lives, Lazic does not shy away from the question of his passion for football, which he has been practicing since he was a child, and recalls a coincidence:
“The last time I was in Buenos Aires was in 2018, we were about to experience a World Cup, and now we’ve experienced another. On both occasions Croatia faced Argentina: the first time we won 3-0 and now you have given us 3-0”.
-What is the concept behind the name of the show, “Viennese Rhapsody”?
-In these words there is an elaborate concept. As far as the “Viennese” are concerned, one must bear in mind that especially in the 18th and 19th century Vienna was one of the centers of the world of music. Composers of different origins, from Italians to Slavs and Germans, went to Vienna, such as Beethoven or Brahms. The city created a cultural bond between them, it was a melting pot of European musical life.
With “rhapsody” I wanted to combine the rhapsodic style, the improvisational and free way in which many have written. With these two words I also wanted to refer to what inspires me as a composer and as a pianist, and to underline the chronological arc from the 18th century to today.
-For the opening piece, Mozart’s “Fantasia in D minor”, add a personal touch in the final bars.
-Mozart didn’t finish the work, and there are several legends about the reasons. We know that he often worked on three or four works at the same time. The final bars are by another composer, so the performer is left with the option of giving it a personal touch.
Moonlight
-How difficult is it to interpret a work so many times played, recorded and listened to as Beethoven’s “Moonlight” sonata?
-I think we should question everything we think we know about her. For example the title: if we know that you have not called Moonlight But Sonata almost a fantasywe can already touch it differently, because the term “moonlight” connects it to us romantically or even impressionistically, makes us think, for example, of Debussy and his Moonlight.
As a composer I can’t help but wonder about things, such as why the first movement is in C sharp minor and the second is in D flat major and not in C sharp major. There’s a metaphysical and emotional connection to that, and it affects how I perceive the work and manifests itself in how I interpret it.
When approaching a work like this, it’s important not to think it’s his definitive interpretation: I usually change my approach, especially those that are known. It helps a lot to understand that such a masterpiece can never be fully understood: this makes us more humble.
Another thing that helped me a lot was getting familiar with Beethoven’s writing process, the meaning of his suggestions. We should always look at the works from as many angles as possible.
Are you also interested in exploring period instruments?
-Very. It is another very important aspect. I had the opportunity to play on one of Beethoven’s pianos built in 1804, it was a fantastic and totally different experience. It is also important to play in key and to know the differences between German, French and English fortepianos.
The modern piano is my instrument, but it is only an instrument: when a surgeon operates, in the end it is the surgeon who counts, not the instruments he uses. It is important to know different tools to choose the one that allows you to best express yourself.
– Brahms’ rhapsodies are particular works within his production.
-The dedication of these works convinced him to call them “rhapsodies”, he wanted to call them “pieces for piano”. It is a great combination of keys (B minor and G minor) which opens a new horizon towards the music of the 20th century, the new music.
These two works act as a bridge to mine Istrian-style rhapsody, and of course I felt influenced by them but through a different language. Istria is a peninsula in Croatia with a musical language based on its own scale which does not connect with our major and minor scales, and also a particular rhythm.
The sensation of live music
-At a time when we are constantly bombarded with images, many believe that formats such as concerts and recitals are obsolete. What is your opinion about it?
-I think it’s amazing how much music and how much intellectual and emotional information can be conveyed in a recital, as in other art forms such as theatre, opera or cinema, where a group of people get together and sit down to listen or watch something without using their phones or computers, without distractions.
It’s one of the things that has been lost the most during the pandemic: the fact of live music. There is a lot of downloadable streaming music, but the live music sensation is not to be missed. There are always ups and downs, but quality music will survive and masterpieces will continue to be heard for centuries to come.
When I think that I will travel so many kilometers from Amsterdam to Buenos Aires to play live in concert, I am amazed, because the audience that will be there could download the music from a platform and stay at home, but how beautiful This is how it is to hear that action and that reaction: even without physical contact between beings, sound waves travel through the air, reach the ears of the audience, and the spectators have emotional and physical reactions, and come back to me.
It’s almost a miracle, and I hope it always will be.
-And the artist can even create an intimate atmosphere in a room as large as the Colón.
-Yes, because the phenomenon is linked to the environment but also to an audience like that of the Mozarteum: you can feel the knowledge, the emotion and the passion it has.
File
Dejan Lazicpiano
Viennese rhapsody: works by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Lazić.
Monday 24th April20:00 Argentine Mozarteum, Teatro Colón
Source: Clarin
