The Piano Series:
Arcadi
Volodos
Arcadi Volodos / Photo: Marco Borggreve
Russian piano phenomenon at the Oslo Opera House
Russian Arcadi Volodos tells stories at the piano with passion, phenomenal technique, colour and poetry. In the spring of 2022, he will take the Main Stage with a performance that includes Schubert and Schumann.
Many have patiently waited for the phenomenal Volodos to return to Oslo. “He exorcises the ghosts of classical music and performs them as modern compositions,” wrote the Danish paper Information, when this virtuoso pianist performed at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in 2019.
The evening opens with Schubert’s National Romantic Gastein Sonata and progresses to Schumann, starting with the romantic Scenes from Childhood, Kinderszenen and concluding with his musical love letter to his future wife, Clara.
Children and love
Of Schubert’s 12 piano sonatas, only three were published during his lifetime. The Gastein Sonata was one of them. It is permeated with both grandeur and overwhelming impressions from his stay in the spa town of Bad Gastein.
Schumann’s childlike glee is reflected in Kinderszenen, which is among his most popular works. It opens with a depiction of a protected and wonderful world. Through these eleven small pieces, Schumann portrays a primarily happy childhood, touching on the strong emotions that can sweep through a little body.
Schumann himself described Fantasie in C major as perhaps the most passionate he had ever written. It was dedicated to his future wife, Clara, before it was certain that they would marry. Packed with emotion, the music reaches out to her with longing and passion.