Journey on the Orient Express – Song Recital by Polina Pastirchak and Jan Philip Schulze

Program:

PARIS
Hector Berlioz: Les nuits d’été – L’île inconnue 
Francis Poulenc: Hôtel 
Henri Duparc: L’invitation au voyage 

STRASBOURG
Gustav Mahler: Rheinlegendchen 

MÜNCHEN
Richard Strauss: Ständchen 

MILANO
Giuseppe Verdi: La zingara
Giuseppe Pietri: La stornellata di Cecco
Stanislao Gastaldon: Musica proibita

VENICE
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: Venetian Gondola Song
Johann Strauss: A Night in Venice – Schwipslied 

*****

VIENNA
Rudolf Sieczyński: Wien, du Stadt meiner Träume 

BRATISLAVA
Béla Bartók: Village Scenes – 4. Lullaby, 5. Legénytánc 

BUDAPEST 
Zoltán Kodály: A csitári hegyek alatt 
Ernő Dohnányi: Ich will, ein junger Lenzhusar 
Lajos Lajtai: Legyen a Horváth kertben, Budán 

TRANSYLVANIA/BUKAREST 
Zoltán Kodály: The Bad Wife 
George Enescu: 7 Chansons de Clément Marot – 3. Aux damoyselles paresseuses d’écrire a leurs amys

ISTANBUL/ATHENS
Maurice Ravel: Shéhérazade – La Flûte enchantée 
Fazil Say: Memleketim
Maurice Ravel: Cinq Mélodies populaires grecques – 1. Chanson de la mariée, 3. Quel galant m’est comparable, 5. Tout gai!

Featuring:
Polina Pasztircsák – vocal
Jan Philip Schulze – piano

The Orient Express luxury train, launched in 1883, was a cult symbol of the connection between Western and Eastern Europe, with its original route running from Paris via Vienna and Budapest all the way to Istanbul. Later, Budapest was connected to Athens, and a route passing through Milan and Venice was also established. Nowadays, the express train is only occasionally revived, but fortunately we can still get a taste of this great travel adventure: Polina Pastirchak's concert covers all the major stops on the different routes. The singer has selected songs from the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century – providing a delightful variety nurtured by the musical atmosphere of the cities and the rich colours of late Romantic and early 20th-century style.

Polina Pastirchak is a singer of Hungarian-Russian descent who studied with Júlia Bikfalvy and then at Mirella Freni's private school. In 2009, she won the first prize, the audience prize and the sponsor's prize at the Geneva International Music Competition, starting her international career overnight. Her repertoire is extremely wide: in addition to 19th-century Italian operas, she sings roles by Handel, Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss, and also appears in oratorios and Mahler symphonies on the concert stage. She is especially fond of the intimate and direct expression of songs, and dedicates thematic recitals to them. Pianist Jan Philip Schulze tours Europe as a respected accompanist to Juliane Banse and Jonas Kaufmann, among others; he is well versed in German and French song literature, and readily immerses himself in 20th-century and contemporary music.

Photos of Polina Pastirchak by Giancarlo Pradelli