The piano concerto is my love letter to the genre and deeply marked by my admiration for those of Prokofiev, Beethoven and, above all, Ravel. Furthermore, the work draws on different experiences and memories of travel, from Berlin's techno scene to the rollercoasters of Japan and the view of Genoa at night. I am incredibly excited for these upcoming performances with Gustav Piekut as soloist and promise it will be an exhilarating journey for everyone involved!
Matias Vestergård, 2026
Coming up next month, the Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra, conductor Christopher Liechtenstein and soloist Gustav Piekut will give the world premiere of the much-awaited Piano Concerto No. 1 by Matias Vestergård. The world premiere performance will take place at Theater Osnabrück, Germany on 5 October 2026 continuing to Copenhagen for its Danish premiere on 30 October 2026 with Copenhagen Phil and conductor Paweł Kapuła.
Commissioned by Theatre Osnabrück, Copenhagen Phil and the Danish Philharmonic Orchestra, the 30-minute concerto blends sparkling innovation with profound virtuosity. The piece also draws on popular culture with the first movement named after Berlin's famous nightclub:
I. BERGHAIN
II. pour les deux doigts
CADENZA
III. FINALE
In his programme note, Matias Vestergård writes:
The first movement is named after the world famous nightclub in Berlin. Aside from its obvious references to techno, the piece also seems to me to reflect experiences from those kinds of nightly adventures. For the first ten minutes, the pianist plays only in the outer registers of the piano, making the return to the middle register even sweeter. After a cadenza with fast hand-crossings, the musical climax is reached with the pianist playing the piano like a carillon, with their fists.
The second movement is a reworking of a movement from my piece KORTE BREVE FRA EN LANG REJSE, based on travel letters by Danish writer Ingeborg Stuckenberg. Here, she describes lively and overwhelming scenes from the streets of Genoa, and contrasts it first with the quiet of the cemetery Campo Santo, and then with the view of the city from her ship at dusk. The title is a reference to Debussy’s piano étude “pour les huit doigts”, in which the pianist is asked to only play with four fingers on each hand; however, in my movement the available fingers are reduced further to just the two index fingers. This is also intended as a loving nod to all the very young pianists who prefer this playing technique.
A full cadenza leads to a fast and joyous finale in which the pianist often plays with both hands a semitone apart and one hand much quieter, ideally leading to a sound reminiscent of the 'ombak' or shimmering resonance of Balinese Gamelan. The piece concludes in an epilogue with rain-like pizzicato and nostalgic bassoons.
Originally trained as a classical pianist, Vestergård brings a deep, multifaceted understanding of the instrument to the score. The concerto also marks an important addition to his orchestral catalogue, following the success of Die Welt ohne Schwere earlier this year.
Details
5 October 2026, 19.30
Theatre Osnabrück
Osnabrück, Germany
Osnabrück Symphony Orchestra
Christopher Liechtenstein, conductor
Gustav Piekut, piano
30 October 2026, 18.00
Concert Hall of the Royal Danish Academy of Music
Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen Phil
Paweł Kapuła, conductor
Gustav Piekut, piano
