Mozart & Saint-Saëns

With Paul Lewis, the Belgian National Orchestra is bringing an absolute top pianist to Leuven. He will perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25, without a doubt his most majestic and symphonic piano concerto.

Composer Olivier Messiaen was a great admirer of this concerto and praised the extraordinary power of this piece: “It reminds me of the grandest religious architecture: Egyptian sphinxes, Mexican step pyramids, Greek temples and Gothic cathedrals.” British pianist Paul Lewis brilliantly brings these constructions to life.

At the request of the London Philharmonic Society, Camille Saint-Saëns composed his compelling Symphony No. 3 in C minor, or Organ Symphony. What’s striking in this piece is the ingenious use of keyboard instruments: in addition to the piano (scored for both two and four hands), the organ also plays an extremely important role. Camille Saint-Saëns dedicated his Symphony No. 3 to his friend Franz Liszt, who had recently passed away, and based it on the Gregorian melody of Dies Irae, the moving sequence from the Requiem Mass.

• Ottorino Respighi, Preludio, corale e fuga
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 25 in C, KV 503
• Camille Saint-Saëns, Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78, Organ Symphony

More info

www.nationalorchestra.be
www.paullewispiano.co.uk

with Paul Lewis (piano) en Roberto González-Monjas (director) photo Kaupo Kikkas