The magnificent Friedrich-von-Thiersch-Saal in the Kurhaus of the Hessian capital Wiesbaden was the place where Bruce Liu, the 27-year-old Canadian pianist of Chinese origin, accompanied by the hr-sinfony Orchestra, conducted by Alain Altinoglu, showed off his skills on June 23, 2024, the second day of the opening concert of the Rheingau Music Festival 2024.
“One of the most fascinating talents of his generation” wrote the BBC Music Magazine when Bruce Liu became the first prize winner of the 18th International Chopin Piano Competition 2021 in Warsaw. He would have achieved rock star status in the world of classical music in a very short time. A taste of this was given on June 23, 2024. He also showed in Wiesbaden that there is still a lot to be expected from him. Not only did he manage to fascinate the audience with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, he also managed to sweep them away and immerse them in the world of feelings and emotions. Bruce Liu, accompanied by the brilliant hr- Symphony Orchestra, which has been led by chief conductor Alain Altinoglu since 2021, received a brilliant round of applause, which resulted in an encore. In this encore, the piano piece “Für Elise” by Beethoven, Liu showed his jazzy and rocky side. The audience showed their enthusiasm with cheers and standing ovations.
“My Country Ma Vlast” – Smetana and Bohemian Romanticism
After the break, the hr- Symphony Orchestra took the audience into Bohemian nature and into the feeling of the awakening national consciousness of the Bohemian population of the time with Bedrich Smetana’s “My Country Ma Vlast”. The Kingdom of Bohemia belonged to the multi-ethnic state of Austria-Hungary, in which many national movements rebelled against the dominance of the Habsburg monarchy. The unique cycle was created between 1874 and 1879, in the last phase of the Habsburgs’ rule, which lasted almost 650 years. With “My County”, Smetana created a musical monument to the Czechs’ burgeoning national feeling in the 19th century.
In the six closely linked tone poems, Smetana transforms myths and legends and, above all, the nature of Bohemia into music. The cycle begins with the Vysehrad fortress near Prague, which lies above the Moldau, the longest river in Bohemia. In Smetana’s time, only ruins remained of the former ancestral seat of the first Bohemian rulers. Smetana’s music conjures up the past and holds out the prospect that the old greatness could arise anew.
This is followed by the most famous of the six tone poems, the “Moldau” (Vltava). Smetana describes the course of the Vltava from its sources over the St. John’s Rapids to the Vysehrad castle rampart. The plot of a cruel ballad is set to music in the third tone poem “Sarka”. The Bohemian Queen Sarka lures the knight Ctirad into her camp, where he and his men are slaughtered. Ctirad survives and takes revenge: he has Sakra buried alive. The idyllic description of the Bohemian landscape in “Z ceskych luhu a haju” – “From Bohemia’s Grove and Field” has a completely different character. In addition to the impression of Bohemian nature, the walk of a village girl, a song by pilgrims and a joyful polka are captured in music.
The last two parts refer to the old Hussite chorale “You who are God’s warriors”, which became a symbol of the Bohemian Reformation after the execution of Jan Hus. The south Bohemian town of Tabor was a stronghold of the Hussites named after Jan Hus. Near the town of Tabor is Mount Blanik, where – according to legend – an army of knights sleeps to help the Czech land in difficult times. The Hussite Chorale combines with the Vysehrad theme of the first tone poem and, at the end of the cycle, conjures up the past and future greatness of the Czech Republic.
Johanna Wenninger-Muhr
Sources: RMF, Wikipedia