LABYRINTH by David Greilsammer

Can classical music and innovation go hand in hand? David Greilsammer proves they can. Recognized as one of today’s most audacious pianists and conductors, Geneva-based David Greilsammer has played in the world’s greatest concert halls, presenting bold interpretations and groundbreaking encounters between different artistic genres and disciplines. At the invitation of Vitality.Swiss, he introduced his latest album, LABYRINTH, as a Japan premiere during a prestige evening at the Swiss Residence. 

Program: 
  16:30 Talk Event with David Greilsammer, moderated by Jonas Pulver, Head of Communications and Culture
  19:00 Piano recital
            19:00    Welcome speech by Ambassador Andreas Baum
            19:10    Piano recital by David Greilsammer: LABYRINTH
            20:15    Cocktail reception

Structured in 7 chapters that mend together masterpieces by Scriabin, Bach, Ligeti, Beethoven, Satie, Granados, Lully or Janáček, LABYRINTH is a fascinating and personal journey through sounds, eras and styles. “Frequently, in our dreams, past and present merge with one another, erasing any sense of time, space, or chronology”, explains David Greilsammer. “In this odyssey, music from the past comes together with sounds of our present days, while complete pieces unite with brief fragments.”  Learn more about the program and the artist here.

David Greilsammer biography

Recognised as one of today’s most audacious conductors and pianists, David Greilsammer has been invited to perform in the world’s greatest concert halls, presenting innovative projects, bold interpretations, and ground-breaking encounters between different artistic genres and disciplines.

Released by Naïve, his most recent solo album, Labyrinth, has received numerous prizes and has been described by the press as ‘radical, ‘courageous’, and ‘astounding’. His other recordings as conductor and pianist, released by Sony Classical, have been awarded many distinctions, including from The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Sunday Times.

Acclaimed for his Mozart interpretations, David Greilsammer has performed all of Mozart’s Piano Sonatas in a one-day “marathon” in Paris, in addition to playing and conducting all of Mozart’s twenty-seven Piano Concertos in nine consecutive concerts. As a conductor, he has been a passionate performer of both Baroque and contemporary music, in addition to revealing unique interpretations of the major symphonic masterpieces, from Beethoven to Brahms, Ravel, and Stravinsky.

David Greilsammer has appeared as conductor/soloist with the BBC Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Symphoniker Hamburg, Orchestra Verdi di Milano, Beijing National Symphony, Israel Symphony, Philharmonique de Radio France, Orquesta Sinfónica Naciónal de México, and many others.

Since 2013, David Greilsammer has been Music and Artistic Director of the Geneva Camerata (GECA), one of the most eclectic and adventurous orchestras worldwide. He has performed with GECA at the Berlin Philharmonie, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Paris Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, 92Y in New York, Tokyo Musashino Hall, and the Seoul Arts Center.

In 2022, David Greilsammer was appointed as Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Medellín Philharmonic in Colombia, one of the leading orchestras in Latin America, as well as a Grammy winner and a recipient of the Classical:NEXT Innovation Award.

Always revealing exhilarating programmes, David Greilsammer’s piano recitals have been presented at Lincoln Center in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Wigmore Hall in London, Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Verbier Festival, Oriental Art Center in Shanghai, Venice Biennale, and The National Theatre of Namibia.

LABYRINTH

David Greilsammer, piano
70 minutes - no intermission

Chapter I
Leoš Janáček (1854-1928) The Owl has not Flown Away!, from On an Overgrown Path
Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) Les Sourdines, from Armide (arrangement for harpsichord by J.H. d’Anglebert)
Leoš Janáček (1854-1928) Words Fail!, from On an Overgrown Path

Chapter II
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Bagatelle, op.126 no.4 
George Crumb (born 1929) The Magic Circle of Infinity, from Makrokosmos
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Bagatelle, op.126 no.5

Chapter III
György Ligeti (1923-2006) Musica Ricercata no.7
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Contrapunctus 1, from The Art of Fugue
György Ligeti (1923-2006) Musica Ricercata no.8

Center of the Labyrinth - Chapter IV
Enrique Granados (1867-1916) El Amor y la Muerte, from Goyescas

Chapter V
Erik Satie (1866-1925) Pièce Froide no.2, from Danses de travers
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788) Fantasy in D Minor
Erik Satie (1866-1925) Pièce Froide no.3, from Danses de travers

Chapter VI
Ofer Pelz (b. 1978) Repetition Blindness, chapter I (New Work - Japanese Premiere)
Marin Marais (1656-1728) Chaconne, from Le Labyrinthe (originally for viola da gamba, arrangement for piano by D. Greilsammer, Japanese Premiere)
Ofer Pelz (b. 1978) Repetition Blindness, chapter II (New Work - Japanese Premiere)

Chapter VII
Alexander Scriabin (1871-1915) Nuances, from Pieces op.56 
Jean-Féry Rebel (1666-1747) Le Chaos, from Les Éléments (originally for orchestra, arrangement for piano by Jonathan Keren, Japanese Premiere)
Alexander Scriabin (1871-1915) Vers la Flamme, op.72