Beatrice Rana, Czech Philharmonic

ABOUT THE CONCERT 

French music has long enriched the world of classical music with its radiant colours and returning to the Czech Philharmonic with just such a palette is conductor Alain Altinoglu who will also treat audiences to the sounds of Italy. Appearing alongside Altinoglu In her Czech Philharmonic debut is Beatrice Rana who brings her “bel canto” playing to Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto.

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Programme

Hector Berlioz
Roman Carnival Overture, Op. 9

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25

Hector Berlioz
Royal Hunt and Storm from the opera Les Troyens

Maurice Ravel
Suite No. 2 from the ballet Daphnis et Chloé

Performers

Beatrice Rana piano

Alain Altinoglu conductor

Czech Philharmonic

MORE INFORMATION

French conductor Alain Altinoglu is currently Music Director of the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra and the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels where his exciting and inspiring performances have been widely acclaimed. He is not only a regular guest of some of the world’s best orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, London Symphony, and Boston Symphony Orchestras, but also of the most prestigious opera stages such as the Metropolitan Opera in New York, London’s Royal Opera House, and the Vienna State Opera. 

For his debut with the Czech Philharmonic in 2022, Altinoglu presented a pleasant evening of musical French Impressionism. For his return to the Orchestra, he has chosen the music of Maurice Ravel once again with the second suite from the ballet Daphnis et Chloé in which the composer took inspiration from paintings of Greece by French artists from the late 18th century. Also on the programme will be beautiful excerpts from Berlioz’s most monumental opera Les Troyens which brings to mind another love story from antiquity that begins in Troy and ends in Carthage. The opening Roman Carnival Overture, also by Berlioz, is based on the Italian dance “saltarello” and sees the composer borrow music from his own forgotten opera Benvenuto Cellini, written whilst he was studying in Rome, a city which he found to be underwhelming. 

The French sound worlds of Berlioz and Ravel will be heard side by side with the more Italianate one of Mendelssohn’s First Piano Concerto, also written in Rome during the composer’s tours of Europe during 1829-1831. The soloist is the Italian pianist Beatrice Rana who appears with the Czech Philharmonic for the first time. Like many outstanding musicians, Rana began her musical studies early, perhaps even earlier than most of her colleagues: “It began even before I was born because both of my parents are pianists.” In this same interview she gave ahead of her New York Carnegie Hall debut, she also spoke about her passion for opera which inspires her music making: “It’s a very dramatic way of approaching life. In my playing, the idea of ‘bel canto’ or ‘beautiful singing’ is very present because it is part of my culture and my origins.”