Orchestra della Svizzera italiana

In the overture to his last opera William Tell, which tells the legend of Swiss archer William Tell and the medieval Swiss movement towards independence from the Habsburg Empire, Gioacchino Rossini portrays the nature of the Alpine republic and the sense of freedom of its inhabitants in stark contrast. The calm and solemn cello cantilena of the beginning is followed by a thunderous storm, an idyllic and traditional Ranz des Vaches, and finally the dramatic gallop to freedom. The conclusion of Piotr Tchaikovsky’s 3rd Symphony is similarly brilliant: it culminates in a blaring polonaise, to which it owes its nickname.

At the centre of the concert is Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major, which the composer originally titled “Divertissement” in keeping with its cheerful character, and which he wrote at the same time as the Piano Concerto in D major for the left hand. Ravel composed the latter for the pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who had lost his right arm in the First World War. It does not come as a surprise, then, that the G major concerto is the more cheerful of the two contrasting siblings. It is characterised by a lively mix of jazz tunes and Spanish and Basque folklore. The work will then be discussed by the versatile artist Anastasia Voltchok, who enjoys international recognition not only for her talent as a pianist. Her paintings have been exhibited by galleries in Zurich, Bologna and New York. Moreover, she published her first book of poetry in 2017.