Alice Coote, mezzo-soprano
Christian Blackshaw, piano
Ralph Fiennes, actor
A sumptuous recital by an all-star trio paints an intimate composer portrait in performances of mesmerizing intensity. This masterly presentation interweaves Tchaikovsky's songs with poetic readings of Alexander Pushkin, Afanasy Fet, Mikhail Lermontov, and letters to the composer's brother Modest and patron Nadezhda von Meck. Alice Coote's breathtaking singing arrests the viewer with "sheer conviction and subtlety of perception" (The Times, London). Yearning, melancholy, soaring passion, anguish—a starkly dramatic range of emotions—are conveyed in nuanced shades of timbre and tone from both singer and speaker with beautifully played commentaries from the piano. Coote, Blackshaw, and Fiennes create a finely-drawn chiaroscuro rendering, offering a revelatory glimpse into the soul of an artist.
Presented in cooperation with Wigmore Hall.
TCHAIKOVSKY
“My genius, my angel, my friend”
LERMONTOV
“I go outside to find the way”
TCHAIKOVSKY
“I bless you, forests,” op. 47/5
PUSHKIN
“The Poet”
TCHAIKOVSKY
“None but the lonely heart,” op. 6/6
PUSHKIN
“The Poet and the Crowd”
TCHAIKOVSKY
“At the Ball,” op. 38/3
Letter to Modest Tchaikovsky, 19 January 1877, Moscow
“Does the day reign,” op. 47/6
PUSHKIN
“Night”
TCHAIKOVSKY
“Do not believe, my friend,” op. 6/1
FET
“And I awoke”
TCHAIKOVSKY
“Death,” op. 57/5
Letter to Modest Tchaikovsky, 10 March 1879, Paris
“Why?” op. 6/5
Letter to N. von Meck, 3 July 1877, Kamenka
“To forget so soon”
PUSHKIN
“I have outlived desires”
TCHAIKOVSKY
“Ni slova, o drug moy (Not a word, O my friend),” op. 6/2
Letter to A. Glazunov, 30 January 1890, Florence
“The mild stars shone for us,” op. 60/12
PUSHKIN
“The Prophet” (translated by Hughes)
TCHAIKOVSKY
“The love of a dead man,” op. 38/5
FET
“Not a word will I utter”
TCHAIKOVSKY
“Again, as before, alone,” op. 73/6