David Dalle
Thursday May 11th, 2023 with David Dalle
Frank Horvat joins me to discuss his recent albums; Igor Levit, Leipzig, and his Tristan program
Composer Frank Horvat joins me today to discuss his new and recent albums, with a particular focus on "From Oblivion to Hope" featuring his compositions for string quartet with the Odin Quartet. These works span 25 years with the earliest, String Quartet no. 2 from 1997, and the most recent from 2022. Despite this wide chronological range, the works are arranged programmatically on the album to feature a journey from oblivion to hope. In Horvat's own words: "This album starts pessimistically with a track called Oblivion, which is an easy headspace to live in these days, especially in the context of the pandemic and its outcomes. As the album progresses, the tone evolves into something more optimistic, ending with a heartfelt work simply called Hope. The idea of going from the negative to the positive is a mindset and a mental health issue that fascinates the composer these days. The hope is that we can all unearth a life with more hope."
https://frankhorvat.com/
| More information on the new albums and to download:
https://frankhorvat.com/discography/from-oblivion-to-hope https://frankhorvat.com/discography/a-village-of-landscapes/ |
| Oblivion Frank Hovat/Odin Quartet - From Oblivion to Hope - I Am Who I Am 
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| The Four Seasons...in High Park i. Spring Frank Hovat/Odin Quartet - From Oblivion to Hope - I Am Who I Am
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| The Four Seasons...in High Park ii. Summer Frank Hovat/Odin Quartet - From Oblivion to Hope - I Am Who I Am
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| The Four Seasons...in High Park iii. Fall Frank Hovat/Odin Quartet - From Oblivion to Hope - I Am Who I Am
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| The Four Seasons...in High Park iv. Winter Frank Hovat/Odin Quartet - From Oblivion to Hope - I Am Who I Am
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| Hope Frank Hovat/Odin Quartet - From Oblivion to Hope - I Am Who I Am
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| The second hour will feature a wonderful program by Igor Levit. He has become one of my favourite pianists, not just because he is a sensitive and virtuostic pianist, but he also creates brilliant conceptual programs, far too rare in classical programming. Levit is playing this program with the Liszt Sonata in b minor instead of "Harmonies du soir" in Leipzig as a lead up to the Mahler festival which begins next week, three days before I was scheduled to arrive in Leipzig. I knew about this, but thought I shouldn't be greedy, as I am seeing so many wonderful concerts during the Mahler festival. Just a week ago, I looked online and saw there was literally one ticket left for Igor Levit. I thought it must be fate, I changed my flight and snapped up that remaining ticket, and I will be seeing Igor Levit perform this dream program on Saturday in Leipzig! This program echoes the Oblivion to Hope theme of Frank Horvat, starting with the Schopenhauer-influenced oblivion of Wagner's endless and unresolved yearning of Tristan und Isolde, through the aching melancholy of Mahler's Adagio from his unfinished 10th symphony, ending with the uplifting, soaring spirituality of Liszt's Transcendental Etude "Harmonies du soir". |
| Tristan Und Isolde: Prelude Richard Wagner arranged Zoltan Koscis/Igor Levit - Tristan - Sony Classical |
| Symphony no. 10: Adagio Gustav Mahler arranged Ronald Stevenson/Igor Levit - Tristan - Sony Classical |
| Harmonies du Soir Franz Liszt/Igor Levit - Tristan - Sony Classical |
| You can listen to the first disc of Igor Levit's "Tristan" on-demand from December:
https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/105/58813.html |
| The next four programs will be following my journey through Europe, starting with the Leipzig Mahler Festival! |
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I enjoyed that interview! Now to listen to the music.
2:29 PM, May 11th, 2023