Wayward genius… extraordinary sound… there’s not an inch of formality to Pekka Kuusisto. He is one-of-a-kind - a mesmerising player, with a riveting personality on stage who has earned himself a bit of a maverick reputation. His programme is a sort of musical ‘farewell’ through the last four centuries.
The movements of Ravel’s light-hearted, reflective Tombeau de Couperin, themselves written as commemorations to friends of Ravel, dovetail with works written in times of conflict, including Messiaen’s Abyss of the Birds.
Bartók: Soldier Song
Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin
Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Cello: Mvt 1
Messiaen: Abîme des Oiseaux from Quatuor pour le fin de Temps
Crumb: God-Music from Black Angels
Biber: Battaglia
Haydn: Symphony No 45 in F-sharp minor, ‘Farewell’
Pekka Kuusisto: Director/Violin
Maximiliano Martín: Clarinet
Benjamin Marquise Gilmore: Violin
Philip Higham: Cello
Ravel Le Tombeau de Couperin directed and played by Pekka Kuusisto