The recital by pianist and composer Lorenzo Porta del Lungo explores the deep connection between music, literature and visual art.
The program opens with a selection of Felix Mendelssohn ‘s “Lieder ohne Worte.” These pieces, icons of early Romanticism, are a tribute to melodic emotionality: although they lack lyrics, they communicate deep feelings, alternating moments of lightness and melancholy with extreme delicacy.
This is followed by Maurice Ravel ‘s famous triptych “Gaspard de la nuit.” Inspired by the poems of Aloysius Bertrand, the work requires transcendental virtuosity to evoke nocturnal and fantastic atmospheres through its three movements: the hypnotic “Ondine,” the macabre landscape of “Le Gibet” and the extreme dynamics of “Scarbo.”
Claude Debussy ‘s “L’isle joyeuse,” a masterpiece inspired by Antoine Watteau’s painting “Embarkation for Kythera,” completes the program. Composed in a moment of personal creative bliss, the score translates the rococo atmosphere into a celebration of sensuality and light, capturing the essence of the journey between joyful ecstasy and subtle melancholy.
PROGRAM
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847)
from Lieder ohne Worte (Romances without words)
Op. 19 nos. 1-2, Op. 30 no. 5, Op. 67 no. 4
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Gaspard de la nuit
Trois poèmes pour piano d’après Aloysius Bertrand
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
L’isle joyeuse