Pianist Martina Filjak writes for The Classic Review about three classical music albums she couldn’t live without.
Image: Romano Grozich
Bernstein – Symphony No. 2 (“Age of Anxiety”) – Lucas Foss, New York Philharmonic, Composer
2018 was Bernstein’s 100th anniversary year and it offered audiences worldwide a reminder of just how accomplished and interesting a composer he was. I had been fortunate enough to hear his second Symphony (‘The Age of Anxiety”) live at the Berlin Philharmonic Hall and the structure, as well as the bold, even frantic sense of emergency of the piece remained with me for days. Currently, we all live in a state of a collective ‘Age of Anxiety’, and while dwelling into the angst of this composition may not necessarily bring a sense of relief, it is an experience absolutely worth having. While it’s intended as a Symphony, the solo piano part is of such magnitude and complexity that it certainly can be listened to and observed as a piano concerto. I would recommend looking into this particular recording of Bernstein himself, with his beloved New York Philharmonic and composer Lucas Foss taking the piano part.
Britten – War requiem – Bostridge, LSO, Noseda
This season (2020), the Deutsche Oper in Berlin has embarked on performing several operas by Benjamin Britten, among them the “Midsummer Night’s Dream” as well as “Death in Venice”. This brought me back to Britten’s ‘War Requiem’, a large-scale work I fell in love with during my teens. Based on the grief-stricken horrors of the Second World War, the piece weaves together the Latin Requiem Text with poems by Wilfred Owen. I can never listen to this work without being moved to tears; The ‘Dies Irae’ is one of the most powerful Requiem Movements that I’ve ever heard, and the entire work possesses an eerie, gripping quality that makes it impossible to forget. This recording is conducted by Gianandrea Noseda with Ian Bostridge, a notable Britten proponent, singing the tenor part.
“Influences” – Tamara Stefanovich, Piano
Being a pianist myself, and certainly a product of various cultural influences (and maybe some clashes), I’d like to bring some light to Tamara Stefanovich’s album, “Influences”. A wonderfully compiled program of Bach, Ives, Bartók and Messiaen focuses on composers that influenced the artist, but also on the collective intertwining of cultures and psychologies, of composers and musicians, of colleagues and friends, old and new. This fascinating program is met with some really great piano playing.
Martina Filjak is an international concert pianist based in Berlin. Born in Croatia, she came to international attention by winning the first prize at the Cleveland International Piano Competition. She subsequently debuted in Carnegie Hall in New York and has since been a guest artist at venues such as Palau de la Musica Catalana in Barcelona, Konzerthaus and Musikverein in Vienna, Konzerthaus Berlin, Salle Gaveau in Paris, Auditorio Nacional in Madrid and Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.
Visit Martina Filjak’s website and official Facebook page.
