Beethoven’s Masterpiece and the Unknown Moszkowski. LNSO, Paulius Andersson, Vilmantas Kaliūnas

Performers:
LITHUANIAN NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
(artistic director and principal conductor Modestas Pitrėnas)
Soloist PAULIUS ANDERSSON (piano)
Conductor VILMANTAS KALIŪNAS

Programme:
MORITZ MOSZKOWSKI – Concerto for piano and orchestra No. 2 in E major, Op. 59
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN – Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92

“Ludwig van Beethoven himself has said that Symphony No.7 (1812) is one of his finest works, and I won’t argue with Beethoven – I agree with him completely. Gustav Mahler testified that after listening to this symphony, people walked out as if they were intoxicated. Given Beethoven’s chaotic character and way of life, I am amazed at the perfect structure of the Symphony No.7. Incidentally, this is the first time that the composer has used the three f’s – fff – forte fortissimo. I am also very happy that this concert will feature the rarely performed deeply romantic music of Moritz Moszkowski”, says Vilmantas Kaliūnas, the conductor of this concert, who lives and works in Germany but collaborates closely with our collectives.

Pianist Paulius Andersson: “As a teenager I listened to all of Moszkowski’s concertos, all of recordings of his music, and realised that I really wanted to play his music. Now the opportunity has arisen, and I have chosen the Second concerto in E major (1898). It is wonderful music, a great piece, unfortunately very rarely performed. I like to include less frequently played pieces in my repertoire – it’s a very interesting creative process, because there are no established traditions, no norms on how to perform them. Of course, the era and the style are self-evident, but there are no stereotypes of performance: you just sit down with the score, you contemplate, you analyse it, and I find it very enjoying. One of the best-paid pianists and composers of his time, he was forgotten for some reason, and for many people he is just a composer of etudes. I want to bring Moszkowski’s music back to our audiences.”

Andersson maintains highly active concert career, has won over 16 international competitions in France, Estonia, Ukraine, Russia, Poland and Lithuania. Since 2022, he has been a resident artist of the Drozdoff Society in New York.

Concert partner – The International M. K. Čiurlionis Music Festival