NSOI: Ravel with Mirabelle Kajenjeri

National Symphony Orchestra Ireland
Diego Matheuz, conductor 
Mirabelle Kajenjeri, piano    

Gabriela Ortiz Kauyumari (Irish Premiere)
Ravel Piano Concerto in G
De Falla The Three-Cornered Hat Suite No. 2
Bartók The Miraculous Mandarin Suite 

Renowned conductor Diego Matheuz returns to National Symphony Orchestra Ireland and join forces with exciting young French pianist Mirabelle Kajenjeri for an electrifying evening of three vivid classics and an Irish premiere for leading Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz.

Hailed as ‘one of the most talented composers in the world’ by conductor Gustavo Dudamel, Mexican Gabriela Ortiz’s Kauyumari – described by the New York Times as ‘a churning engine of sound’ – is, the composer says, a ‘celebration of renewal’ that makes vivid, trance-like use of native folklore.

Ravel’s Piano Concerto, with Kajenjeri as soloist, bursts with syncopated rhythms and bluesy harmonies perfumed by Basque and Spanish accents and powered by American jazz, its sublime Adagio laced with Mozartian grace.

Marking the 150th anniversary of his birth, De Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hat, a comic tale of love and deception, is a sparking, dynamic, sun-drenched, castanet- and guitar-led celebration of Andalusia.

Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin pulses with raw energy, explosive orchestral colour and intensity, evoking a tale of desire, chaos, violence, and ultimately doomed love on the mean streets of a nameless city.

Presented by NCH