Two themes—flowers and waltzes, as heard in works ranging from Schumann’s Blumenstück (Flower Piece) to Ravel’s La Valse—shape this lovely, delicate, and at times haunting recital program performed by longtime Festival collaborator Kirill Gerstein, who’s been hailed as “a peerless performer” by The Guardian. Gerstein also performs a new work called Waltzes Toward Civilization, which the award-winning Spanish composer Francisco Coll wrote for him and which Gerstein premiered in December 2024.
SCHUMANN Blumenstück, Op. 19
GYÖRGY KURTÁG Flowers We Are, Frail Flowers from Játékok (Games)
RACHMANINOFF Lilacs, Op. 21, No. 5
GRAINGER Paraphrase on Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers
FRANCISCO COLL Waltzes Toward Civilization
RAVEL La Valse
Approximate length: 1 hour