Tchaikovsky. In Memory of a Great Artist

PERFORMERS:
Sergei Redkin (piano)
Alexei Lukirsky (violin)
Anton Gakkel (cello)

Written and presented by Leonid Gakkel

PROGRAMME:
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
In Memory of a Great Artist, trio for piano, violin and cello in A Minor, Op. 50

The Mariinsky Theatre and Professor Leonid Gakkel, Doctor of the History of Art and Honoured Worker of the Arts of Russia, are offering audiences the Sunday series of concerts Masterpieces for All Time (Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre, 14:00).
Six programmes will present masterpieces of symphony and chamber music – Symphony No 40 by Mozart, Symphony No 5 by Beethoven and the Unfinished symphony by Schubert, performed by the Mariinsky Orchestra, as well as the trio In Memory of a Great Artist by Tchaikovsky, the Quintet by Franck and Trio No 2 by Shostakovich performed by young Russian instrumentalists.
In his series of concert lectures Leonid Gakkel will speak about those aspects of classical masterpieces that made them the “latest news” not just in music but in the spiritual life of Europeans as a whole.
Symphony No 40 by Mozart will be presented as one of the first achievements of romanticism and, possibly, as the first symphonic work in which a person speaks about themselves. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony draws our interest for the perfection of the score and the tremendous emotional tension, reflecting the moods of the early 19^{th century. Schubert’s Unfinished symphony will afford the opportunity to discuss the attractiveness of unfinished works, if they have been produced by great maestri, as well as the new format of symphony music following after Beethoven. Tchaikovsky’s trio and Franck’s Quintet will be presented to the audience as a revelation of Russian and French cultures with their very typical features and extreme emotional depth. The Trio by Shostakovich, which reflects the 20th century as an “Age of Terror” (Albert Camus), embodies the tragic destiny of our compatriots and, at the same time, the courage and will to live of Russia’s musicians and creative artists.}