Concert Talk with Mihhail Gerts

You are invited to a unique lecture-concert in which conductor Mihhail Gerts explores the background of one of the most powerful works in Estonian music. Eduard Tubin’s “Ballade on a Theme by Mart Saar” is a chapter in its own right in Estonian cultural history. The work is based on Mart Saar’s choral song “Seitse sammeldunud sängi” (“Seven Moss-Covered Beds”). Although its text, drawn from folklore about the ancient Estonians, is dark, in Tubin’s interpretation it develops into a firm and bright conviction to stand up for one’s beliefs. Written in the chaconne form popular in the Baroque era, the variations fuse centuries of art-music compositional techniques with the archaism of folklore. The result is one of the most powerful works in piano music, written shortly after Tubin fled Estonia, and it reveals his profound connection to his homeland. At the concert talk, we will explore together the work’s extraordinary elements: the compositions that served as models for the composer; the historical events surrounding the work’s creation; and its connections to the music of Tubin’s contemporaries. Read more.