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By:
Besarte Elshani
- December 22, 2024 11:00
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Just like the transformation of space, the soprano Besa Llugiqi and the pianist Misbah Kaçamaku have elegantly broken down the opposite worlds of Schumann and Strauss, but what they have in common are beautiful poetry and extraordinary music. They are works that give weight to the word, with stories about life, love and death. The concert was like a poetic narrative
Soprano Besa Llugiqi and pianist Misbah Kaçamaku were the duet of the "Side by side" concert. Works that talk about loves that have a tragic ending on the one hand and those that also talk about nature, loss and death, build the program with beautiful works that are based on German poetry. Meanwhile, the solo piano sounds in Mozart's work illustrate the dark nature of the concerto's theme.
The National Library of Kosovo is often one of the spaces where cultural events are organized. On Friday night, the interior of the building's lobby had a different image. Its stepped arched central part is surrounded by black curtains that are dressed in the colors of blue lights. Lighted candles and white roses with small dome-shaped objects are placed next to the space where the piano was placed.
Soprano Llugiqi and pianist Kaçamaku appeared on stage with elegance. In the first part, he performed the cycle of songs "Frauenliebe und leben, op.42" by the German Robert Schumann. At first it is deeply emotional, and a short break brings it back with a humorous thread. Generally they are deeply emotional and serious. Initially, they are harmonious with a dose, and then it transforms into a kind of elegy, to the point that the soloist conveys the story of the character who loses his strength, his voice.
"The first part shows an event through a cycle of eight songs, love and the life of a woman. It details how she falls in love, marries, gives birth to a child and finally her lover dies. It ends tragically but has an extraordinary content. There is a lot of art in it", said the soprano Llugiqi at the end of the concert.
The work, even according to its name, makes it known that it talks about the love and life of a woman. Includes a cycle of poems set to song. It is known that they were written by the German poet and writer, Adelbert von Chamisso in 1830.
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"Side by side" as a poetic narrative about life, love and death
“They describe the course of a woman's love for her husband, from her point of view, from first meeting to marriage to his death and beyond. The selections were set to music as a cycle of songs by the masters of the 'German Lied', namely Carl Loewe, Franz Lachner and Robert Schumann", the work is explained.
In the second part of the program, the duo performed six songs by the German composer, Richard Strauss. He started with "Morgen op.27 no.4" followed by "Ach liebe ich muss nun op.21, no.3" and "Allerseelen op.10, no.8". They are mainly melancholic, sensitive, deeply emotional.
The voice of soprano Besa Llugiqi resounds in the interpretation of "Mein hertz ist stumm op.19, no.6". Next, "All mein gedanken op.21, no.1" is a short but very attractive piece. It brings a happy theme to overcome the gloom with "Zueugnung op.10, no.1", which is the closing piece.
Soprano Llugiqi has said that each of these parts has its own special narrative.
"The second part is short stories in one or two minutes, but each one talks about life, death, nature, loss and love. In both versions it's challenging for the singer, but it's also a super-pleasure to perform because it's wonderful music and woven so well with the poetry that you actually have to give more importance to the words, coloring it with music and this makes this program very unique", said Llugiqi.
In general, he assessed the program as stylistically difficult, while the two parts of the repertoire were completely different from each other.
"The program is quite demanding, stylistically difficult. They are two opposite worlds, Schumann and Srauss, but they have one thing in common: the beautiful poetry in them and the extraordinary music, each in its own way," she said.
He has shown that he has chosen what are known as "lied", focusing more on the content of the text.
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Piano and violin duo with the sounds of life stories
"Music is always at the service of the text. In 'lied' this is the main thing a composer does, maybe they sounded a little more painful, but these were the ones we selected. Not because that fits me or not. We simply tried to select a program that would suit this atmosphere", said the outstanding soprano, Besa Llugiqi.
The separation of the two parts was made by the well-known pianist Misbah Kaçamaku. He played the piece for solo piano "Fantasie in E minor KV 396" by Mozart. It is one of the most popular piano pieces even though the work was completed by someone else.
Kaçamaku said that the work went with the concept of the concert and what he calls the dark theme of the entire event.
"This work was found after Mozart died, but it was like a kind of sketch. I actually got this work because only the first part was written by Mozart and it was planned for violin, sonata and piano. Someone else did the middle part and the ending. It was possible to notice the difference between the first part and the other two. It was the idea of integrating the public as I believe that most do not know the origin of the work and it seemed to me that they come with the thought that it is Mozart, but in reality they hear something else entirely. This was the idea of selecting the work", he said.
The piece was initially harmonious with sounds placed very close to each other, and in addition to the central theme, there are also fragments of virtuoso playing.
Regarding the program in general, the pianist Misbah Kaçamaku said that the special thing was that all of them are German songs and that such a selection has always been missing.
"The special thing is that as far as I can remember, since the post-war period, this is the first time that the whole concert has been 'lied', in the sense that there were no operatic arias. This has been interesting. The first part was a cycle by Schumann if we can say a serious one where a girl goes out, meets, gets married. In Strauss, each is a separate song. It was our choice. Both are German, both difficult, both interesting", he said while also mentioning the long collaboration with the soprano Llugiqi.
"Besa and I have been working together for three years. I can freely say that we are the only duet that has consistency in cooperation, regardless of concerts, commitments, even when we have a break, we use it to work. One of the reasons why I believe that the concert was the long time of cooperation, that is, it was not composed quickly for two weeks," he said.
This cooperation, according to Llugić, has caused the tests to be sporadic.
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Piano and violin duo with the sounds of life stories
"We started cooperation very early, I can say that during the pandemic when only two or three people could meet. We have chosen the program while the rehearsals have been sporadic, we have not always met. That period has been constant, also because of another concert at a festival in Kosovo, and from there the idea of a 'lied' concert was born, which is very rare and very specific", said Llugiqi.
The duo will reveal the story of the same concert on Sunday at the National Library of Kosovo.
