Préludes – Chopin & Lazkano

Preludes – but for what? A dialogue with Chopin, a dialogue between preludes, a dialogue between the past and the present. The intertwining of old and new music may provide an answer to this often asked question. With its meticulous elaboration and special, mystical writing style, the prelude series by Basque composer Ramon Lazkano is connected to Chopin's well-known pieces. The series, released in the fall of 2025, can now also be seen as an intimate dialogue between French and Hungarian musicians at the opening concert of the Transparent Sound New Music Festival, as Chopin's works are performed by pianist Domonkos Csabay, between which the musicians of the Ensemble Cairn insert Lazkano's 19 preludes under the baton of Guillaume Bourgogne.

According to Lazkano, the piece, which is composed of works by the two composers, is actually “a series of fragments, the characteristics of which come from Chopin’s preludes, projected into an instrumental universe alien to the reference music – an ensemble that allows for an altered, heterogeneous and corroded sound.” The resulting music – despite being broken up into asymmetrical sections – nevertheless preserves the order of Chopin’s cycle, maintaining its refined tonal and motivic sequence. The music of the two worlds invites us into a meditative labyrinth where every detour is a source of wonder. Before the concert, between 6:00 PM and 6:45 PM, Jérôme Combier, artistic director of Ensemble Cairn, and composer Balázs Horváth, the festival’s founding curator, will give an introductory talk (in Hungarian) presenting the artistic concept. Attendance is included with the concert ticket.