On September 5, our concert hall reopened its doors after the summer break. Since September is above all associated with the start of the school year, our concert was dedicated to Knowledge Day.
Twelve-year-old Alexandra Long is well known to our regulars, as this was not her first performance at the Russian House. Among the audience were also many who were visiting for the first time.
Alexandra is the youngest student at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, having been admitted at the age of ten. For her, music has never existed separately from poetry. Her goal is not merely to make the instrument sound, but to convey her feelings to the audience, sharing the era, mood, and imagery of each piece.
The concert opened with Edvard Grieg’s Sonata in E minor, followed by lines from Yevgeny Yevtushenko’s Prologue.
After Yevtushenko’s poetry, music resounded once more: Alexander Scriabin’s Five Preludes, Op. 15. Each prelude is a musical miniature, flowing into the next and leaving a delicate aftertaste.
The poet Konstantin Balmont, whose poem Elf was also performed during the evening, dedicated it to his friend Alexander Scriabin:
And crowds moved on. And thunder sang aloud.
And man was matched to God, as in a cloud.
’Twas thus I saw Scriabin at the keys.
The next item on the program was a cycle of works gathered under the title Little Suite. Its composer, Alexander Borodine, was not only one of the greatest 19th-century Russian composers and a member of the “Five” alongside Balakirev, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Cui, but he also dedicated this suite to the Belgian Countess Louise de Mercy-Argenteau, a great admirer of Russian music. The suite’s original title was Petit poème d’amour d’une jeune fille.
Borodine’s music was followed by lines from Marina Tsvetaeva’s Our Kingdom. Both the music and poetry capture a fragile world of young womanhood that resonates deeply with the young artist.
After the concert, the audience gathered in the courtyard to continue discussing music and poetry in an informal setting. A wonderful start to the season—we look forward to welcoming you to our upcoming concerts.
