The legendary Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich will perform at the National Forum of Music together with a young virtuoso of the piano, Theodosia Ntokou. The artists will perform some of the most frequently played piano concertos in the history of music: by Ludwig van Beethoven and Camille Saint-Saëns. The programme will be flanked by the famous Pavane pour une infante défunte by Maurice Ravel and the Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Säens – a colourful parade of various species.

The work by Ravel is a stylisation of a Spanish dance, whose name comes from its slow, solemn pace reflecting the behaviour of proud peacocks. The Pavane was composed in 1899 as a piece for piano, but was overshadowed by its orchestral version prepared more than a decade later. This nostalgic and thoughtful work has gained great popularity. Ravel attached great importance to its interpretation, warning against too slow a performance: “this is a Pavana for the deceased Infanta, not a deceased Pavana for the Infanta”, he used to say.

The Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major op. 15 was probably composed in 1795. And although according to the numbering it was created first, it does not reflect the creative process of the composer. In fact, Beethoven outlined its initial sounds after the Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major op. 19. One can speculate as to the reason for this numbering – the most probable seems to be the artist’s closer attachment to the concerto in the key of C major, which was also the first to be published and presented to the Viennese audience. The work is set in traditional musical means of expression, its texture is brilliant and virtuosic and technically demanding for the pianist.

Composing the Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor op. 22 took Saint-Saëns less than three weeks. He had very little time to thoroughly prepare for its premiere, during which he also appeared as a soloist. The first performance ok place on May 13, 1868, the orchestra was conducted by the great Russian pianist, composer and conductor Anton Rubinstein, and Saint-Saëns sat at the piano as planned. The unconventional structure of the work in the beginning disappointed the audience, but over time the concerto gained proper recognition, entering the core repertoire of piano literature.

The concert by Argerich and Ntokou will be crowned by The Carnival of the Animals called a “zoological fantasy” by Camille Saint-Saëns. He wrote it as a musical joke, intended to be performed only among friends. The work was published and presented to the public only after the artist’s death – in accordance with his last will.