Of all the top pianists that our country boasts, Jan Michiels is the ultimate Janus. With his feet planted firmly in the present day, he turns one face to the future and the other towards his profound awareness of history. During our spring festival, Michiels takes his seat at a mid-19th century Pleyel and an 1875 Steinway for a wild ride through late Romantic and early modern nocturnes. From Norway (Thomas Tellefsen, Edvard Grieg), the colourful soundscape veers off towards Finland (Jean Sibelius), America (Ernest Richard Kroeger) and Belgium (August De Boeck). Compositions by Giovanni Sgambati – a favourite of Liszt’s – and Giuseppe Martucci (the ‘Italian Brahms’) complete this grand tour.
Program
F. Chopin: Nocturnes, opus 37, no. 1, 2 | Nocturnes, opus 48, no. 1, 2 | Nocturnes by T. Tellefsen, G. Sgambati, G. Martucci, E. Grieg, A. De Boeck, J. Sibelius & E.R. Kroeger
Performers
Jan Michiels, piano (Pleyel 1843, Steinway 1875)
