Kirill Gerstein
The Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by London-born composer Thomas Adès was created specifically for pianist Kirill Gerstein and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In March 2019, Adès himself conducted the world premiere of this approximately 20-minute work with Gerstein and the BSO at Symphony Hall. This musical collaboration testifies to the fruitful artistic relationship between the English composer and the pianist. The concerto, the result of a three-year artistic partnership between Adès and the ensemble, skillfully balances avant-garde and tradition. With its dissonant timbres and chromatic deviations, the composer creates a vibrant soundscape, while the melodies develop into asymmetrical forms through shifting time signatures. Following the Boston premiere, further performances took place at Carnegie Hall, and the European premiere was given by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in April 2019.