Concert Programmes - Victor Nicoara
These curated piano recitals explore lesser-known musical narratives of the 19th and early 20th century, pairing rare repertoire with spoken introductions that draw listeners into their distinctive sound worlds.
I. Busoni’s Trinity: Bach, Mozart, Liszt
A visionary pianist-composer reimagines his musical ancestors.
At the dawn of the 20th century, Ferruccio Busoni (1866–1924) — legendary pianist, composer, and thinker — absorbed the legacy of his artistic forebears, Bach, Mozart, and Liszt, and forged a new musical language of clarity, fantasy, and bold innovation. These works, placed in dialogue with their inspirations, form a musical arc of transformation: from baroque reflection to romantic virtuosity, all refracted through Busoni’s visionary lens.
J.S. Bach/F. Busoni - Capriccio on the Departure of his Most Beloved Brother, BWV 992
F. Busoni - Indianisches Tagebuch (Indian Diary)
F. Liszt - Variations on a Motif by Bach: Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen
- Intermission -
F. Busoni - Sonatina ad usum infantis Madeline M* Americanae
W.A. Mozart - Sonata in f Major, K. 322
F. Busoni - Sonatina 1
II: Satie, the Silent Revolutionary
Wit, melancholy, and eccentricity at the heart of French modernism.
Erik Satie (1866-1925), the unsuspecting radical of Parisian fin-de-siècle music, continues to inspire genres as diverse as jazz, experimental music, and film scores. This programme highlights his dry wit, mysticism, and poignant lyricism, framed by the works of his admirer Ravel and predecessor Chabrier — each, in their own way, musical outsiders. Debussy’s first book of Préludes brings the recital to a luminous close, expanding on the sonic world Satie helped pioneer. The concert is interwoven with readings from Satie’s writings and anecdotes from his singular life.
E. Satie: Gnossienne 3
E. Satie: Le Fils des étoiles (excerpts)
M. Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte
E. Chabrier: Feuillet d’album
E. Satie: Descriptions automatiques
E. Chabrier: Bourrée fantasque
- Intermission -
C. Debussy: Préludes (Book I)
III. Erich Wolfgang Korngold – From Viennese Prodigy to Hollywood Icon
A golden thread from Old Europe to the silver screen.
Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897–1957) composed his first major success at just 11 years old. Der Schneemann was celebrated by no less than Richard Strauss and Puccini. Remaining true to his lush harmonic world, Korngold carried the lyrical spirit of late Romanticism from Vienna to Hollywood, becoming a defining figure in the golden age of film music. His piano writing — vivid, dramatic, and richly textured — is both a joy to play and a revelation to hear. This programme is framed by works from Korngold’s mentor Zemlinsky and contemporaries Strauss and Puccini, offering a panorama of a vanished musical world.
E.W. Korngold - Der Schneemann (Excerpts)
A. Zemlinsky - Fantasies on Poems by Richard Dehmel, op.9
E.W. Korngold - Märchenbilder, op.3 (Excerpts)
R. Strauss - Stimmungsbilder, op.9
G. Puccini - Foglio d’album
- Piccolo valzer
E.W. Korngold - Tales of Strauss, op. 21
-Intermission-
E.W. Korngold - Three pieces from Much ado about nothing
E.W. Korngold - Piano Sonata Nr. 2, op.2
IV. Sounds of Nature and Landscapes of the Soul
Music as a bridge between inner and outer worlds
During the Romantic era, as religious devotion waned, humanity’s spiritual longings found an outlet in the contemplation of nature. This is evident not only in Caspar David Friedrich’s meditative canvases or in the poetry of Joseph von Eichendorff, where landscape and inner life are inseparably intertwined, but also in music.
This programme spans the full range: from the vividly descriptive in Schumann’s Waldszenen or Sibelius’s op. 85 (inspired by different species of flowers), to the suggestive in Liszt’s Vallée d’Obermann or Strauss’s Stimmungsbilder, where nature becomes a backdrop for inner journeys of the soul. It concludes with Enescu’s Carillon nocturne, whose mystical bells reach outward into the vastness we strive to understand, yet ultimately dissolve into as one.
E.W. Korngold – Was der Wald erzählt
R. Strauss – Stimmungsbilder op. 9
F. Liszt – Au lac Wallenstadt; Vallée d’Obermann (from Années de pèlerinage I)
- Intermission -
J. Sibelius – 5 Pieces op. 85
R. Schumann – Waldszenen op. 82
G. Enescu – Voix de la steppe, Choral et Carillon nocturne (from Suite op. 18)
V. Beethoven and Schubert - Contrasts in Harmony
With an eye toward their upcoming jubilee years in 2027 and 2028, the two masters enter into a dialogue, each reflecting the other’s most distinctive qualities.
Two rarely heard sonatas in D major, both inspired by the countryside, yet each composer translates that inspiration into music in his own distinct way. Beethoven, usually fiery and tempestuous, turns towards serenity and understatement, while the often introspective Schubert channels a boisterous, earthy grandeur.
If the Sonata is the medium Beethoven made his own, the Lied was Schubert’s home ground. Continuing the pastoral thread through their references to nature, these rarely heard Liszt arrangements highlight a stark contrast between Beethoven’s hopeful idealism and Schubert’s bitter pessimism, yet both share a longing for an imagined elsewhere.
L. v. Beethoven - Sonata op. 28 “Pastorale”
L. v. Beethoven/F. Liszt - An die Ferne Geliebte op. 98
- Intermission -
F. Schubert/F. Liszt - Der Wanderer D. 493
F. Schubert - Sonata D. 850 “Gasteiner”