LSO with Matsuev: Rachmaninov and Balakirev, Barbican
Closing his season with the LSO, Denis Matsuev plays in Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto, framed with the same composer's Third Symphony and Balakirev's Russia
The London Symphony Orchestra will close its collaborative series with Siberian piano wizard Denis Matsuev with a pair of identical concerts. Conducted by countryman Valery Gergiev in his last season with the LSO, the series promises to end triumphantly with a trio of Russian masterworks.
Mily Balakirev played a truly pivotal role in the history of Russian music. Supported by Glinka in his youth, he in turn inspired the likes of Borodin, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky. Obscured by such titans, it is little surprise that he remains undeservedly unknown in the West. The symphonic poem Russia (1864) is a keystone of musical nationalism, advocating a new sound distinct from that of wider Europe. Utilising a raft of Russian folk songs and abandoning conventional Western structures, it creates a mesmerising sound world.
Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 3 (1935-36) mixes serene nostalgia for his absent homeland with rousing traditional dance rhythms. Leaving behind the fireworks of his earlier career in favour of a more economic style, the piece flows with a lucid dynamism and manic fervour. The whole gamut of emotions is evoked with élan. Panned by critics and public alike at its premiere, over the last fifty years it has come to be regarded as one of Rachmaninov’s very best works.
The season will climax with Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (1901). One of the most popular piano concertos ever composed, it is a sensuous flood of late Romantic yearning, riven with explosive piano solos that ideally suit Matsuev’s adrenalin-fuelled style. It might well be the season’s highlight.