<\/p>
Yefim Bronfman (piano); Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra\/Jakub Hr\u016f\u0161a<\/p>
RCO Digital EP\u00a0\u00a0 17:73 mins<\/em><\/p> Silk-spun melodies hang undisturbed across an orchestral pathway that is dotted with flickering woodwind. Work on the spider\u2019s web is interrupted as the builder, here pianist Yefim Bronfman, crashes into a corner in a clatter of chords. Elena Firsova\u2019s first piano concerto \u2013 co-commissioned by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra \u2013 is short and sweet, skipping between mystic, Scriabin<\/a><\/strong>-sourced pianism and an accessible, narrative-driven score based on the life-long presence of looming death.<\/p> Tension is flung, fully formed rather than built, into the compact middle Allegro<\/em>, which, with its central three-note motif, calls to mind the \u2018Dun, Dun Duuun\u2019 sting composed by Dick Walter that has become shorthand for \u2018something scary is about to happen\u2019. Firsova doesn\u2019t focus on diabolic intervals for long, however; the final Andante<\/em> is the longest and most important movement (following a similar format to the composer\u2019s 2017 Double Concerto for violin and cello), where the previously scattered melodic crumbs lead to a perfectly risen loaf. <\/p> Bronfman \u2013 recorded during performances in 2022 with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Jakub Hr\u016f\u0161a at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam \u2013 is nicely forefronted and on form throughout, saving his greatest restraint for the pendulous upper-octave grand finale. Representing a ticking second hand and, by implication, the creeping onset of our demise, the short rhythmic section is more terrifying than any Lisztian fireworks. Bronfman brings the concerto to Liverpool later this year \u2013 date as yet to be announced.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n By Claire Jackson Published: Thursday, 29 February 2024 at 14:14 PM Yefim Bronfman (piano); Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra\/Jakub Hr\u016f\u0161a RCO Digital EP\u00a0\u00a0 17:73 mins Silk-spun melodies hang undisturbed across an orchestral pathway that is dotted with flickering woodwind. Work on the spider\u2019s web is interrupted as the builder, here pianist Yefim Bronfman, crashes into a corner […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":39566,"template":"","categories":[1,80,19],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/elena-firsova-piano-concerto.jpg",900,900,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/elena-firsova-piano-concerto-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/elena-firsova-piano-concerto-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/elena-firsova-piano-concerto-768x768.jpg",768,768,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/elena-firsova-piano-concerto.jpg",800,800,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/elena-firsova-piano-concerto.jpg",900,900,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/elena-firsova-piano-concerto.jpg",900,900,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Claire Jackson Published: Thursday, 29 February 2024 at 14:14 PM Yefim Bronfman (piano); Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra\/Jakub Hr\u016f\u0161a RCO Digital EP\u00a0\u00a0 17:73 mins Silk-spun melodies hang undisturbed across an orchestral pathway that is dotted with flickering woodwind. Work on the spider\u2019s web is interrupted as the builder, here pianist Yefim Bronfman, crashes into a corner…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/39565"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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