Sergey Malov is a versatile, multi-award-winning virtuoso who performs a wide-ranging repertoire, spanning from Baroque works to premieres of contemporary compositions. Moreover, he plays several instruments masterfully, including both modern and Baroque violins, the viola and the small-sized cello da spalla. Together with the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra, he will present two chamber music gems composed by Schubert in 1824, arranged here for a larger ensemble. The concert will open with a piece by Leonid Desyatnikov, who, on the 200th anniversary of the Austrian composer’s birth, drew inspiration from one of his songs.
The final song of Schubert’s song cycle Winterreise, The Hurdy-Gurdy Man (Der Leiermann), is regarded by Desyatnikov as “a masterpiece of 19th-century minimalism”. Nevertheless, in his own composition based on its motifs, titled Wie der alte Leiermann, he did not opt for a radically minimalistic approach. Instead, he employed an expressive musical language, full of unsettling sharp colours and dissonances. Undoubtedly, his experience in composing film music also makes itself felt. The piece was also intended as a musical portrait of violinist Gidon Kremer, to whom it is dedicated.