The programme for this Tuesday includes works by Debussy, Beethoven and Liszt

 

The Auditorio de Tenerife is offering a piano concert by the pianist and composer Fazil Say next Tuesday (23rd). The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Chamber Hall. The programme includes works by Claude Debussy, a piece by the artist himself, Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Liszt.

The performance begins with The Preludes (book I) by the French composer Claude Debussy. This work, composed in 1909, honours the piece of the same name as the one by Pole Chopin. This selection of six preludes consists of evocations aimed, on the one hand, at describing atmospheres in an awakening of the senses, such as Les Sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir and La Cathédrale engloutie, and on the other, characters and scenes, such as La Fille aux cheveux de lin, La danse de Puck and Minstrels.

The second piece performed by Say is Clair de lune (Moonlight) from the Suite Bergamasque, L 75, also by Debussy, named after the poem by Paul Verlaine. The Turkish pianist has a deep knowledge of this work, and in 1990, he even orchestrated these preludes. His versatility has led him to compose music for various artistic fields, such as film, theatre, dance, symphony, and chamber groups. His style is unique and free from stylistic clichés.

Before the intermission, Fazil Say decided to surprise the audience with a work of his creation. The composer selects a piece a la carte from his repertoire. This choice leads us to Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 23, in F minor, op. 57. Composed between 1804 and 1805, this piece holds a special place in Beethoven's heart, considering it one of his most important piano pieces. The first movement expresses contradictory feelings, from longing to extreme dynamism, with suspenseful silences, and a more serene second part, which returns with despair in a defiant third movement.

Fazil Say concludes the concert with Liszt's Prelude and Fugue in A minor, a work that pays homage to the German composer Bach. The conductor made many transcriptions of the works of other famous composers. Although some of these piano arrangements are not widely known, they have held a significant place in the Hungarians' careers. They include Paraphrases of Operas (such as Verdi's Rigoletto), Lieder (such as those of Schumann, Schubert, and Mendelssohn), and transcriptions of symphonies.

With more than 25 years in music, Fazil Say is a pianist and composer of Turkish origin. The author Aribert Reimann discovered him at the age of 16 while studying at the conservatory in Turkey's capital. He refined his training as a classical pianist from 1987 on with David Levine, first at the "Robert Schumann" Musikhochschule in Düsseldorf and then in Berlin. He also regularly attended master classes with Menahem Pressler. 

Throughout his career, he has worked with musicians such as Maxim Vengerov, the Minetti Quartet, the Modigliani Quartet, Nicolas Altstaedt, Marianne Crebassa, and violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja. He received the Rheingau Music Award, the International Beethoven Award for Human Rights, Peace, Freedom, Fight against Poverty and Inclusion in Bonn (2016), and the Music Award of the City of Duisburg in 2017.

This concert is part of the Pianísimo subscription, which offers tickets for three piano concerts at a 25% discount, including this one by Fazil Say on 23 April, as well as the concerts of Martín García García on 21 May and Paul Lewis on 11 June.

The tickets can be purchased at a single price of €15 and 5 for under 30s on the website www.auditoriodetenerife.com, at the auditorium's box office, or by dialling the phone number 902 317 327 from Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. There are discounts for students, unemployed and large families.