The program included Vivaldi, of course, but also rediscovered scores from two composers of the same period: Gasparini and Chelleri. The artist gave two encores, including Handel’s “Lascia ch’io pianga.” She was highly applauded by the audience in Arcachon.
Elisabeth Leonskaja on Sunday
On Sunday, April 19 in the afternoon, international pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja gave a brilliant recital one could title “from Vienna to Vienna.” After a short and pleasant Mozart sonata, the contrast was huge with “Six Small Pieces for Piano” by Schoenberg: a music of rupture filled with dissonances and atonality, difficult to hear. The “Piano Sonata No. 2” by Shostakovich was easier, although at times surprising in composition. After a short break, the “Sonata D. 850 – the 2nd Great Sonata” by Schubert was a haven of peace and serenity for the spectators.
Elisabeth Leonskaja delighted the audience with an extremely brilliant recital.
At 80 years old, Elisabeth Leonskaja demonstrates authority, energy, and dexterity completely dedicated to music, without ostentation or self-promotion. As an encore, after forty minutes of Schubert’s sonata, the pianist played a piece by Debussy.
As part of the festival, at the invitation of the University of Free Time in Arcachon (Utlarc), musicologist Pierre Dumonchau, who gave a listening key on Schoenberg and Shostakovich on Sunday, will present on Wednesday, April 22 at 3:00 p.m. at the MA.AT “The Forgotten Women of Music,” a lecture on eight composers to (re)discover.
