“The maturity and sophistication of her thoughtful interpretations would be the pride of any pianist twice her age.” - Gramophone

The young German star Elisabeth Brauß, who wowed the audience at last summer's Mänttä Music Festival, returns to Mänttä - this time as soloist at the festival's opening concert.

Brauß rose to prominence in the piano world after winning the prestigious Kissinger Klavierolymp in 2016. Two years later, she was selected for the BBC's New Generation Artist programme, confirming her status as one of the top talents of her generation. In recent years, Brauß has conquered the world's most important concert halls, from Wigmore Hall to the Elbphilharmonie. His recording of Grażyna Bacewicz's Double Concerto with pianist Peter Jablonski, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and conductor Nicholas Collon has been highly acclaimed by the media.

Elisabeth Brauß's recital programme takes the listener through time - from the early 1700s to the middle of the last century. The works in the recital are united by a programmatic and profoundly probing narrative.

The concert opens with Johann Sebastian Bach's youthful Capriccio, a farewell to a beloved brother, one of his few programmatic keyboard works. Beethoven's iconic Sonata in E-flat Major, the Farewell Sonata, brings a deeply human touch to the theme of farewell. It is dedicated to Beethoven's friend and supporter, Archduke Rudolf, who was forced to flee Napoleon's invasion of Vienna.

The second half begins with Robert Schumann's last piece, the striking Ghost Variations. The composer, who struggled with his precarious mental health, said that the theme of the work was inspired by the ghosts of Schubert and Mendelssohn.

The evening concludes with Sergei Prokofiev's dramatic Piano Sonata No 7, one of his famous 'war sonatas'. This masterpiece, depicting the horrors of the siege of Stalingrad, is the culmination of both intense expression and historical charge.

The themes of loss, conflict and anti-war make the works in the opening concert of the Mänttä Music Festival relevant today, offering a musical mirror to both the past and the present.

Artistic director of the Mänttä Music Festival, Niklas Pokki, will give an introduction to the concert (in Finnish) in the Kivijärvi hall at 18.00. The concert ends approximately at 20.00.

Photo: Felix Broede