Shortly before premiering his second piano concerto in 1881, Brahms wrote a letter to his friend Elisabeth von Herzogenberg informing her that he had written “a very short piano concerto with a short and delicate Scherzo”. The irony is obvious, because there is nothing small about it. It is fifty minutes that even have affinities with chamber music, but magnified by the ostentatious sound of an orchestra. In this program it is set against Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony, a relatively humorous composition, considering the fiery temperament of its author. It is a work that, on the one hand, appears normal. However, upon closer listening, it raises a number of questions. We can also revisit Carlos Caires’ Clepsidra, a musical allegory long inspired by a water clock dating back to Ancient Egyptian times.
A “Small” Concert
Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra
[Music at the University]
L. v. Beethoven Symphony No. 8
Carlos Caires Clepsidra
J. Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2
António Rosado piano
Sylvain Gasançon conductor
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