Spiegel im Spiegel

Violinist Elena Urioste, and pianist Tom Poster, join the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra to explore music by Pärt, Finzi, Clarice Assad, and Felix Mendelssohn, from the stage of City Halls, Glasgow.

Presented by Kate Molleson

Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel
Finzi: Eclogue for Piano and Strings
Clarice Assad: Dreamscapes for Violin and Strings
Felix Mendelssohn: Concerto for Violin and Piano in D minor

The parallel reflections of an infinity mirror inspired Arvo Pärt’s famous composition: its still-revolving fragments much repeated on film and television make it an oft-sought soundtrack to emotional on-screen moments.
Written in the late 1920s Gerald Finzi’s slow-movement from a planned piano concerto seems to be part of an English nostalgia for a time before the explosions of violence in the First World War: with its soft-toned strings, gentle, close-stepping melodies, it inhabits a dream world.
The Dreamscapes of Clarice Assad’s 2009 work for violin and strings are more feverish and varied: using music to explore the phenomena of rapid eye movement, and lucid dreaming.
And the concert ends with Mendelssohn’s double-concerto for Piano and Violin, from 1823, originally performed by Felix and Fanny as a sibling double act. Something of a rarity, it is redolent of Berlin’s private salons, especially in the string version heard this evening. But its musical sophistication and elegance are quite remarkable from the young 14-year-old.

Elena Urioste (violin)
Tom Poster (piano)
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Photo: Elena Urioste and Tom Poster (credit, Juan-Miguel Hernandez)