On 24 November the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre will be hosting the world premiere of Rodion Shchedrin's newest work The Adventures of a Monkey based on the tale by Mikhail Zoshchenko. The programme for the evening also includes Shchedrin's Solemn Overture and Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto, the performance of which commemorates two hundred and fifty years since that composer's birth. The soloist will be Japanese pianist Mao Fujita, a prize-winner at the XVI Tchaikovsky Competition. The role of the Narrator in The Adventures of a Monkey is to be undertaken by Polina Malikova (Tolstun), an actress of the Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theatre. The Mariinsky Orchestra will be conducted by Valery Gergiev.
The Adventures of a Monkey is a new work by Rodion Shchedrin, created in 2020. The composer has designated its genre as a concerto for narrator and solo instruments accompanied by string orchestra and cembalo. The selection of instruments to be used is far from trivial: trumpet, French horn, flute, harp and percussion. For such a composer as Rodion Shchedrin, with his ability to create voluminous musical character, grasp a given gesture and convey a certain individual intonation, The Adventures of a Monkey is a veritable gold mine of ideas. With Zoshchenko there was ready-made dramaturgy (with a beginning, two culminations, a dénouement and an epilogue), as well as a contrasting sequence of "crowd" and "chamber" scenes and "arched" constructions. The characters of the story are just as colourful and varied as the instruments in the orchestra and actually "suggest" leitmotifs. This "musical reading" of Zoshchenko's vivid and dynamic story promises audiences many of the numerous interesting and witty innovations for which Rodion Shchedrin is so famous.
The composer has dedicated his new opus to his late wife, the legendary ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, who dearly loved this tale by Zoshchenko. The premiere will be taking place during several days celebrating ninety-five years since the birth of Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya.
Before the end of November, the maestro's newest work will also be presented for audiences in Moscow: Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra will be taking the premiere to the Zaryadye Concert Hall.
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