Gabriela Montero (piano) will perform a program featuring improvisation and works by Shostakovich and others, alongside Simon Höfele (trumpet) and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra.

Idyll | Virtuosity | Modernity

Gabriela Montero is one of the most distinctive pianists of our time. Her playing combines technical precision with a rare ability for spontaneous musical expression. Her improvisations are legendary. At the heart of this evening, she showcases precisely this breadth—in dialogue with Simon Höfele and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra.

The program is deliberately rich in contrasts. Ruth Gipps’ «Cringlemire Garden» opens with finely balanced timbres for string orchestra. Leoš Janáček’s «Idyll for Strings» follows, unfolding a tranquil soundscape marked by folk melodies. After the intermission, the perspectives intensify: Prokofiev’s «Visions fugitives» (in the version by R. Barshai) emerge as concise miniatures of surprising clarity and sharpness. The highlight is Shostakovich’s Concerto, Op. 35, a work that balances irony, virtuosity, and gravity, in which the piano and trumpet (Simon Höfele) engage in a multi-layered musical dialogue.

To conclude, Gabriela Montero opens the space for improvisations that arise from the moment and unfold differently each evening. Thus, the concert goes far beyond the interpretation of scores. Moments of spontaneous listening and shared experience emerge under the spell of this unique musician.



6:45 PM | Introduction

Duration: approx. 120 min., including intermission
Age: 6+


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