Doha: Internationally acclaimed German pianist Gerhard Oppitz (pictured), famous for his unusually broad repertory, will play Johannes Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto alongside Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra tonight at Katara Opera House.
A well-known Brahmsian pianist, Oppitz has Brahms’ complete solo piano music among the 70 titles in his discography, and has been awarded the Brahms-Preis for his important contribution to the preservation of Brahms’ artistic heritage.
Often referred to as one of the “Three Bs” of music alongside Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven, Brahms was a German composer and virtuoso pianist who wrote wide ranging compositions and worked with some of the leading performers of his time. He was the author of symphonies, concerti, chamber music pieces, piano works, choral compositions, and over 200 songs. Known for being a perfectionist, there is a 22-year gap between his first and second piano concerto.
“The second piano concerto by Brahms has been accompanying my life for almost 50 years and it has proved to be a wonderful source of inspiration during the past decades of my artistic development. I have had the pleasure and the privilege to perform this marvelous composition about 250 times together with many different orchestras and conductors. Up to nowadays, I have never lost my great enthusiasm and my deep appreciation for this concerto, which I consider to be comparable to one of the eminent 8000m+ mountains within the entire repertory of piano concertos, or possibly the Mount Everest,” said Oppitz. Unlike piano concertos by other composers, he pointed out that Brahms’ Concerto No.2 is not just a concerto for solo piano with secondary orchestral accompaniment but a large-scale symphony for piano and orchestra with equally distributed roles for all participants. “The generous dimensions of this work allow the space for vivid conversation between all groups of involved musicians including the solo pianist. This music is based on acting and reacting, on listening to each other and on exchanging musical ideas with each other,” he noted.
Oppitz has already performed two Mozart (No. 20 & 21) and two Beethoven Concertos (No. 4 & 5) with the Qatar Philharmonic since his first appearance in Qatar in 2011. “It has always been a pleasure to spend several days in Qatar and to make music together with the Philharmonic Orchestra. The fabulous members of the orchestra have been able to keep the high artistic level of their ensemble and to gain more and more experience on the various sectors of the great symphonic repertoire from the early classical period to the contemporary age,” he said.
Led by Marcus Bosch, one of the most prominent figures in the German conducting scene, Qatar Philharmonic will also perform Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6 tonight.
