{"id":1879,"date":"2023-06-05T15:32:52","date_gmt":"2023-06-05T15:32:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nikolaimedtner.com\/heaven-on-earth\/"},"modified":"2024-06-15T16:58:21","modified_gmt":"2024-06-15T16:58:21","slug":"heaven-on-earth","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nikolaimedtner.com\/en\/heaven-on-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"Heaven on Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Medtner and<\/strong><\/strong> Rachmaninoff<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

In search of the unattainable<\/em><\/p>\n\n

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‘Heaven on Earth’ is an anthology of highlights from vocal works by Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) and Nikolai Medtner (1880-1951). Songs based on famous Russian and German poetry and incomparable vocalises. Also special are Pushkin’s poems, set to music by the two composers in their own way.<\/p>\n\n

Rachmaninoff and Medtner were both not only great piano virtuosos and grand masters of Russian late romanticism, they were also closest friends. And both they gave voice to the unspeakable.<\/p>\n\n

In this full-length concert, mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Levental and pianist Frank Peters explore what moved both composers, their ideals and inspiration, and how they shaped that heaven on earth.<\/p>\n\n

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“…Perhaps, where all is clothed in glory,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

in beauty that cannot decay,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

the sacred flame that shines eternal<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

will burn the thought of earth away,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My soul will lose life\u2019s transient image,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018mid all the beauty there above,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

know not regret, nor joy, nor yearning,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

forget the bitter pangs of love.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A. Pushkin\/H. Drinker<\/em><\/sub><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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In this programme, we are constantly balancing on the dividing line between Heaven and Earth. Narrated by great composers to texts by great poets and sometimes without even using a word.<\/p>\n\n

The lyrics of the songs explore each in their own way the meaning and purpose of our existence on earth. ‘Arion’ is a ballad about a shipwreck survivor who has found the strength to survive through music. ‘The Muse’ reveals the secret of whispered words, which can serve as inspiration for the rest of your life.<\/p>\n\n

‘Wandrer’s Night Song’ speaks of the power of nature that can transcend death. ‘Twilights’ attempts to capture the moment of immortality in light and colour. And ‘Elegy’asks concretely a question whether heaven can be found on earth. (With a clear assent from Medtner.)<\/p>\n\n

But when words fail, both composers choose vocalise, the wordless, the unspeakable, that which yet wants to be shared because it connects us: the will to transcend transience. These vocalises communicate beyond language barriers. About changeability and doubt, and about the power of continuing to seek.<\/p>\n\n

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