The Sociedad de Conciertos La Filarmónica presents on Wednesday, November 13 at 7.30 pm in the Symphony Hall of the Auditorio Nacional de Músical in Madrid to the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, which will perform the Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 30, by Rachmáninov, and Symphony No. 5 in E flat minor, Op. 82, by Sibelius.
Jukka-Pekka Saraste (in the photo)will conduct the orchestra and the piece by Sergei Rachmáninov will be performed by pianist Nelson Goerner. Tickets can be purchased at this link.
For many years, the Russian musician was protected by the Russian tsars, who appointed him director of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theatre. He would eventually leave the country, fleeing the revolution and become one of the most acclaimed composers in the United States, a country that welcomed him as his own. Settled in Beverly Hills, he would obtain American citizenship one month before his death.
In the midst of the Finnish nationalist movement and the process of Finland’s independence from Russia, Jean Sibelius’ music was identified as a weapon for enhancing patriotic sentiment. Sibelius, who always wanted to stay away, would end his days in a mysterious and inexplicable musical silence that lasted more than three decades.
These are just two examples of the difficult relationship that art and power have always held. The political, aware of the influence of artists on the people, has tried to influence their art in order to use it as an instrument of exaltation. However, in many cases true artists manage to find the way that preserves their creative freedom.
