Water
Kristjan Järvi, conductor
Fazil Say, piano
Gstaad Festival Orchestra
Bedrich Smetana: Die Moldau
Fazil Say: Piano Concerto “Water” (commissioned by Gstaad Menuhin Festival und Festspiele Mecklenburg Vorpommern 2013)
- Blue Water (Mavi Su)
- Black Water (Kara Su)
- Green Water (Yesil Su)
Benjamin Britten: Sea lnterludes “Peter Grimes” op. 33a
- Dawn
- Sunday Morning
- Moonlight
- Storm
Claude Debussy: “La Mer”, trois esquisses symphoniques
- De l’aube à midi sur la mer
- Jeux de vagues
- Dialogue du vent et de la mer
Recorded on 23rd August 2013 at the Festival-Tent Gstaad
Fazil Say and water
Fazil Say and the Gstaad Festival Orchestra play a concert full of water. Bedrich Smetana’s The Moldau is a piece that contains many detailed information in its score. As André Lischké says “Along the course of the Moldau a series of pictures follow. At first there is a hunting scene, then a farmer’s wedding. In the next part the theme of the beginning is taken up again, but in a darker mood. This time the instrumentation is lighter to recreate the atmosphere of the dancing nymphs in moonlight. Later on, the theme of the Moldau is shaken up by the orchestra: the Moldau here reaches the Johannis rapids and afterwards flows on and culminates in Prag. With a diminuendo, during which the instrument sections drop out one at a time, until only the violins are present, the Moldau vanishes at the horizon.
“Water” a composition by Fazil Say
Fazil Say fascinates the audience and press with his exceptional skill on the piano. For a long time now, he has also been in the spotlight as a composer. For the 2013 tour of the Gstaad Festival Orchestra he composed a Piano Concerto. The piece called “Water” was commissioned by Gstaad Menuhin Festival and together with the Festspiele Mecklenburg Vorpommern. It is divided into three movements: «Blue Water» (Mavi Su), «Black Water» (Kara Su) and «Green Water» (Yesil Su). Fazil Say’s opus is immense and is enriched by Water. His works are known for the freedom of sound, their cosmopolitanism and spanning all genres.
Music and water
The opera Peter Grimes was created at the suggestion of the American patron Sergei Kussewizki. In 1944 Benjamin Britten decided to rework the opera into an independent orchestra piece, that are the four orchestra interludes. These so-called Sea interludes praise the sea and the sea-loving soul of many British people. La Mer by Claude Debussy is an emblematic piece. At a closer glance it becomes obvious that it is actually a symphony that follows a plan structured into the three movements.
