Homage to Glenn Gould
A musical journey through all dimensions of Glenn Gould's life and work: This is what the discussion concert "At the piano with Glenn" promises on Saturday, 24 February at 7:30 pm in the Festsaal Fürstenhaus. Piano student Vinzent Reinisch from Prof Grigory Gruzman's class at the Weimar University of Music will be organising this varied evening with explanatory words and melodious sounds.
The programme includes works by Orlando Gibbons, Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Edvard Grieg and Glenn Gould. Admission is free!
"Glenn Gould was probably one of the most distinctive, individual and ingenious pianists ever - and one of the most controversial," says Vinzent Reinisch, explaining the motivation for his themed evening. "Anyone who has heard one of his recordings feels great enthusiasm or even greater aversion. And not without reason: to this day, many of Gould's ideas, commentaries and media products question and break with convention - if only because of the unique way he played Bach, completely against the still romanticised zeitgeist."
The concert begins with the famous "Aria" from the Goldberg Variations, which Gould released on CD in two legendary recordings in 1955 and 1981. "This aria was able to represent and shape his life like no other work and still connects us with him today," says Reinisch.
The programme continues with a fantasy by Gould's declared favourite composer, Orlando Gibbons. This is followed by Beethoven's Sonata No. 12 in A flat major, in whose recording Glenn Gould "demonstrated the full range of his qualities and idiosyncrasies, from extreme tempi to passionate sing-alongs", says Reinisch.
After the interval, the "Sonata for piano" is one of Glenn Gould's few experimental compositions. With Prelude and Fugue in E minor BWV 855, the concert returns to Johann Sebastian Bach once again, before concluding with the first movement of Edvard Grieg's Sonata for Piano in E minor Op. 7.
Vinzent Reinisch, born and raised in Fulda, has been studying piano in Prof Grigory Gruzman's class at the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar since 2021. In addition to numerous successes at "Jugend musiziert", he has won prizes at numerous competitions, including the "Pianale Junior" 2016, the 20th Mendelssohn Competition and the 11th Bach Competition in Köthen.
He was also a finalist at the "Concours Flame" in Paris. He has attended masterclasses with teachers and pianists such as Dmitri Bashkirov, Andreas Frölich, William Fong, Christopher Hinterhuber, Robert D. Levin, Herbert Schuch, Balázs Szokolay and Natalia Trull.
Vinzent Reinisch has gained chamber music experience in a wide variety of formations, including piano four hands, piano trio and duo with cello. Here, too, he received a great deal of inspiration from renowned mentors such as Beate Hartmann, Alexey Stadtler, Angelika Merkle and David Geringas.
He also received cello and conducting lessons himself and is enthusiastic about musicological and historical aspects. This experience and knowledge characterises his artistic work and his pianistic skills. Vinzent Reinisch often presents nationally and internationally unknown repertoire, unusual programme concepts and discussion concerts.
[16 February 2024]