Guy Ben-Ziony, viola
Naaman Wagner, piano

Programme:
S. Prokofjev: Romeo and Juliet, op. 64, selected pieces from the ballet arranged by Vadim Borisovsky
B. Britten: Lachrymae, op. 48 – Reflections on a song of Dowland
N. Rota: Intermezzo for Viola and Piano
G. Enescu: Concert Piece for Viola and Piano

For this concert, acclaimed violist Guy Ben-Ziony – one of the teachers at this season’s Ljubljana Festival masterclasses – and pianist Naaman Wagner offer us a programme consisting of four works composed in the twentieth century. The selected movements from Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet (Op. 64), arranged for viola and piano by Vadim Borisovsky, will transport us to Verona and the tale of the two young lovers fated to die as a result of the feud between the Montague and Capulet families. Benjamin Britten composed his Lachrymae – Reflections on a Song of Dowland (Op. 48) in 1950 for the famous viola virtuoso William Primrose, and in doing so created one of the masterpieces of the twentieth-century viola repertoire. The piece is a set of skilful variations on Dowland’s yearning theme, which we finally hear in all its beauty in an ending of remarkable sweetness. Next on the programme is the romantic and enchanting Intermezzo for viola and piano by the Italian composer Nino Rota, who is best known for his film music, having scored around 150 films for directors such as Fellini, Zeffirelli, Visconti and Coppola. The concert will end with the George Enescu’s brilliant Concert Piece for viola and piano, written at the suggestion of Gabriel Fauré for an internal competition at the Paris Conservatoire. Enescu designed the piece in such a way as to enable the members of the competition jury to identify gifted violists more quickly. It is still a popular standard of the concert repertoire today and serves as a showcase for the finest violists.