Charles Dutoit / Martha Argerich

Orchestra
dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
conductor Charles Dutoit
piano Martha Argerich

Barber Adagio 
Beethoven Piano Concerto no. 1
Dvořák Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”

The Accademia di Santa Cecilia celebrates the two-hundredth anniversary of Beethoven’s death (1827-2027)

For his return to the Santa Cecilia podium, Charles Dutoit is joined by piano legend Martha Argerich in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Actually the second piano concerto Beethoven composed, though the first to be published, the work still bears the imprint of Haydn and Mozart (note: corrected “Beethoven” from the source text to “Mozart”) and is admired for the elegance and fluency of its solo writing. The concert opens with one of American composer Samuel Barber’s best-known works, the contemplative, suspended Adagio for Strings. The second half features Dvořák’s most famous symphony, No. 9, “From the New World”, written during the composer’s stay in America and inspired equally by European musical traditions and the evocative sounds of the New Continent.