On Love & Death
Violin and Piano Recital | Lasma Taimina, George Mannouris
Strovolos Municipal Theatre | Monday, 22 May 2023 | 20:00
Ledra Music Soloists is honoured to present violinist Lasma Taimina and pianist George Mannouris in a unique musical evening. The two exceptional artists will grace us with an exhilarating and varied programme with works for solo violin and solo piano, as well as for violin and piano ranging from the Baroque period to late Romanticism.
The repertoire revolves around works inspired by the inherent artistic urge to portray emotions associated with love, romance, and death. Historians speculate that Bach composed the Chaconne in D minor upon returning from a trip and learning that his wife Maria-Barbara had passed. Similarly, Mozart composed his Sonata in E minor while on tour in reaction, as generally believed, to the fatal illness of his mother. In contradistinction to the aforementioned personal experiences, Liszt’s Ballade No. 2 is based on the Ancient Greek myth of the secret and, ultimately, ill-fated romance between Hero, a priestess of the goddess Aphrodite, and the young Leander. Such an “illicit” love affair also unfolds in Wagner’s sublime opera, Tristan and Isolde, in whose final scene—the famous Liebestod—Isolde gazes ecstatically at Tristan’s lifeless body, determined to reunite with her lover through her transcendence from the mundane to the spiritual world. In a lighter vein, Franck offered his genuinely Wagnerian Sonata in A major to the then young violinist Eugène Ysaÿe as a wedding gift.
Programme
Bach: Sarabande & Chaconne, from Partita, BWV 1004
Mozart: Sonata in E minor, ΚV304
Liszt: Ballade no. 2, S171
Wagner / arr. Liszt: “Liebestod” from the opera Tristan and Isolde, S447
Franck: Sonata in A major
An alumna of the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid and the Royal College of Music in London, Lasma has appeared in concerts and world-famous festivals all across Europe, North America, and the Far East. She performs regularly with leading orchestras such as the London Symphony, the BBC Symphony, the Oxford Philharmonic, the City of Birmingham Symphony, the London Mozart Players, the Camerata Tchaikovsky, and Gidon Kremer’s Kremerata Baltica. She works officially as a Sub-Principal First Violin at the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
George studied at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid and the New England Conservatory in Boston. He has performed in some of the most prestigious venues of Europe and North America such as the Laeiszhalle, the Grand Kremlin Palace, and Jordan Hall. In addition to being a concert pianist, George is also an award-winning poet and a historical musicologist. He has given lectures on the Romantic era, Liszt, Wagner, nineteenth-century opera, and music and philosophy. He is currently completing his PhD in musicology at Brandeis University.
TICKETS Full-price €15 | Concessions* €10 (LMS members, pensioners, full-time students, soldiers)
https://www.soldoutticketbox.com/ | Stephanis Stores
Important notice: We encourage patrons to purchase tickets in advance as seating is limited and assigned numerically. Alternatively, patrons may purchase available tickets at the box office only on the evening of the performance.
INFO | 99744227 | info@ledramusic.org | www.ledramusic.org
SPONSORS: Deputy Ministry of Culture
