April 10, 2021 | Khatia Buniatishvili, Neeme Järvi and the Verbier Festival Orchestra perform Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 at the Verbier Festival in 2011.
Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943) wrote his third Piano Concerto in 1909 at the Ivanovka country estate 550 kilometres south-east of Moscow. Rachmaninoff spent the summer months here from 1890 until his emigration to the US in 1917. The three movements of the piece recall the structure of typical solo concerts of the Romantic era. Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 was premiered by the New York Symphony Orchestra on November 28, 1909 in New York, conducted by Walter Damrosch. Rachmaninoff, who had been practicing the concert on a silent piano during his Atlantic voyage, played the solo part himself.
As a child, pianist Khatia Buniatishvili, born in 1987 in Tblisi, Georgia, was considered a wunderkind. She began to play the piano at the age of three and gave her first concert with the Tblisi concert orchestra at the age of six. International performances followed when she was ten. In 2008, she gave her US debut at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Since then, Buniatishvili has been regularly invited to many high-profile festivals and has given concerts in the world’s most renowned concert halls, for instance at Vienna’s Musikverein, at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and at the Berlin Philharmonic. She has won the highly respected Echo Classic Award twice.
The Verbier Festival is one of the most prestigious classical music events in the world. The quality of the participating artists as well as the originality of the programs have established the festival as a highlight of the music season. It takes place for two weeks in late July and early August in the mountain resort of Verbier, in Switzerland.
May 6, 2021 The ‘Dream of Love’ that is Liebestraum No. 3 in A-flat major is not only the most recognizable work for solo piano by Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886), it’s also one of the most famous piano pieces of all time. Liszt published it in 1850, alongside two more such ‘love dreams’ (S. 541).
May 6, 2021 • What an encore! Liebestraum No. 3 by Franz Liszt, played by Khatia Buniatishvili at the 2011 Verbier Festival.
The ‘Dream of Love’ that is Liebestraum No. 3 in A-flat major is not only the most recognizable work for solo piano by Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886), it’s also one of the most famous piano pieces of all time. Liszt published it in 1850, alongside two more such ‘love dreams’ (S. 541).
The basis for Liebestraum No. 3 was the earlier Lied ‘O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst’ (S. 298), which Liszt composed for solo voice and piano accompaniment in 1845. For the lyrics, Liszt reappropriated the first four verses from the poem of the same name, by Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810-1876). The Lied dealt with reminiscing over a lost love – and the too-late realization of not having that love lived to its fullest.
Liebestraum No. 3 for piano is a mood piece, in which the opening melody of the song becomes the main theme, repeated through multiple variations. The Liebestraum carries a characteristic atmosphere of melancholy. Khatia Buniatishvili is enraptured as she plays, as if she were alone with Liebestraum No. 3 in the concert hall – a most romantic work for piano in an interpretation that none could fail to be drawn into.
Pianist Khatia Buniatishvili, born in 1987 in Tbilisi/Georgia, was considered a wunderkind as a child. She began playing piano at the age of three, giving her first concert with the Tbilisi Concert Orchestra at age six. International performances followed from the age of ten. In 2008, she had her US debut in New York's Carnegie Hall. Since then, Buniatishvili has been a regularly invite at many high-profile festivals, and has performed concerts in the world's most renowned concert halls, including Vienna's Musikverein, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Berlin Philharmonic. She has twice received the highly respected Echo Classic Award.
The Verbier Festival is one of the world’s most prestigious classical music events. The quality of participating artists – coupled with the originality of the programs – has established the festival as a highlight of the musical calendar. It is held for two weeks – from late July to early August – in the mountain resort of Verbier, Switzerland.
