About the Performance
Béla Bartók was fascinated by Menyhért Lengyel's violent and erotic fable The Miraculous Mandarin, the story of a young girl forced to seduce men so her captors could steal from them. Bartók created one of his most scintillating scores, dripping with drama and yearning for the redemptive power of human love.
Esa-Pekka Salonen's Piano Concerto, with its demanding and percussive solo piano part is dedicated to the pianist Yefim Bronfman, the soloist in this performance. The shimmering music of Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un Faune evokes the mysterious eroticism of Mallarmé's famous poem.
Janácek's Sinfonietta was intended to express 'contemporary free man, his spiritual beauty and joy, his strength, courage and determination to fight for victory'.
'The giddy pleasure of hearing Mr Salonen evoking, appropriating and downright stealing the music he loves... to produce something excitingly original.' The New York Times on his piano concerto
Yefim Bronfman: 'brawny, powerhouse virtuoso who appears unruffled by the most demanding works in the repertoire.' The Wall Street Journal
