Gods Among Men

The evening

‘He stands before us—the new dazzling Sun-god, quivering with radiant vitality.’ – John Keats

Eros, god of love, meets Apollo, god of light and music. In Keats’s epic poem Hyperion, Apollo emerges as a new, awesome force, something Britten’s early work embodies: it’s a focused succession of brilliant flourishes, the soloist racing up and down the piano at speed over fanfaric trumpets and percussive strings.

Britten’s brilliance sharpens the woozier, dreamier world painted by John Adams. On a memorable visit to Adams’s home, Toru Takemitsu and Adams discovered a shared love for the jazz piano of Bill Evans. Adams transports us to a quiet, passionate, intimate conversation, conducted at 3AM, somewhere.

To conclude: Mozart’s ‘Jeunehomme’ Piano Concerto, completed when the composer was just 21 years old – a sparkling classical masterpiece, full of life and energy.

Pavel Kolesniko. Photo: Eva Vermandel