CELLIST MISHA QUINT & PIANIST ALEXEI VOLODIN PERFORM IN SONGS WITHOUT WORDS AT CARNEGIE HALL JAN 23
InterHarmony® Concert Series returns to Carnegie Hall on January 23 with Songs Without Words, featuring cellist Misha Quint and pianist Alexei Volodin. Two virtuosos reunite for a concert framed around the simple idea: music doesn’t need lyrics for the highest expression, with poignantly romantic works by Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff, Schubert, Davydov and Rostropovich. Tickets can be purchased at carnegiehall.org or by calling 212.247.7800.
After the concert, Quint and Volodin’s new album, Paris Mirages, will be available for purchase. It will be the debut album for the new InterHarmony® Records label.
About the Program
The concert will begin from Romance without Words, a piece written by Karl Dadvidov, a monumental cello virtuoso of the 19th century, with sweet and charming melodies. It will end with the music of of the 20th century icon of cello playing, Mstislav Rostropovich, with his Humoresque. These two pieces create a foundation for a bridge made of masterpieces of the cello and piano repertoire at the concert.
That spirit will continue in Franz Schubert’s Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano. Originally written for the now-extinct arpeggione, a hybrid instrument that was part guitar and part bowed strings, this sonata is now only played on the cello, which allows the work to take on new warmth and depth.
Felix Mendelssohn’s Song without Words is next, which gave inspiration for the program theme. When Mendelssohn’s friend, Marc-André Souchay, tried to compose words to the music, the composer objected, saying: “There is so much talk about music, and yet so little said...With me it is exactly the reverse, and not only with regard to an entire speech, but also with individual words. These seem to me so ambiguous, so vague, so easily misunderstood in comparison to genuine music which fills the soul with a thousand things better than words. ”
At the heart of the program is Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Sonata for Cello and Piano, written after the composer experienced a severe bout of depression, and premiered with Rachmaninoff at the piano with his friend Antoliy Brandukov in 1901. Sonata is notable for treating piano and cello as equal soloists. Its thick chordal structure and use of the full range of both instruments allow for an intensity imitative of the dynamic expression only found in symphony orchestra performances.
In Rachmaninoff’s haunting Vocalise, originally written for wordless human voice, the cello and piano will recreate this familiar melody with profound emotional intensity without language.
Rostropovich’s Humoresque is a perfect ending for the evening’s journey. This virtuosic, almost acrobatic piece is perfect for the duo, written as a birthday gift for Rostropovich’s teacher and famously learned overnight—showcasing brilliance, agility, and playful spirit.
All together with this romantic program in the setting of Carnegie Hall with two international performers, Songs Without Words is a night you can’t miss. More information can be found at interharmony.com.
Event Links
Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/3426205-0
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/3426205-2
