Martin Grubinger & Dorman/ Rachmaninoff

Austrian Martin Grubinger is one of the most famous percussionists in the world. Many classical composers have composed for him. He’s also a major name beyond the classical world: in 2015, for example, he performed with his international ensemble, The Percussive Planet, in the intermission of the Eurovision Song Contest. In this concert he plays both solo and orchestral parts.

Frozen in Time is a concerto for percussion and orchestra that the Israeli-American composer Avner Dorman wrote especially for Martin Grubinger in 2007. This work is now part of the standard repertoire. The titles of the three parts – Indoafrica, Eurasia and The Americas – refer to the three great land masses of our planet. They once collectively formed the supercontinent Pangaea.

The Belgian National Orchestra brings the evening to a close with Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances. He wrote this work in 1940 on Long Island (New York), reflecting on his rich and varied life. In the first movement, Rachmaninoff quotes the central theme of his First Symphony, which had a disastrous premiere. The third movement uses both the Dies Irae theme (symbolising death) and the Hallelujah of the orthodox liturgy (symbolising resurrection).

Hugh Wolff, conductor
Martin Grubinger, percussion