A tribute to an intoxicaing place

GOLD STANDARD: A phalanx of 700 smling Beethovens invaded Bonn’s Münsterplatz on 13 May. Designed by arist Otmar Hörl, the metre-high green and gold tatues were an addiion to BTHVN2020, marking the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth next year. ‘All the world knows him as a grumpy character,’ said Hörl. ‘High ime for a paradigm shit in collecive visual percepion.’ The installaion remained in the square unil 2 June. Photo: © Bürgerakion UNSER LUDWIG

COMPOSER Peter Eötvös

WORK Violin Concerto no.3 ‘Alhambra’

ARTISTS Isabelle Faust, Mahler Chamber Orchestra/Pablotheras-Casado

DATE 12 July 2019

PLACE Palace of Charles V, Granada, Spain bit.ly/2YRNx4c

Peter Eötvös

Isabelle Faust

EÖTVÖS PHOTO WILFRIED HOESI. FAUST PHOTO DETLEV SCHNEIDER

Perched atop a rocky outcrop in southern Spain is the Alhambra – a dizzying maze of passageways and palaces that represent the architectural apex of Islamic Moorish culture. Its structures and gardens were built between the 12th and 15th centuries, and have inspired countless writers, artists and composers. Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher was inluenced by the spiralling patterns of its tiles, while Paulo Coelho’s novel the Alchemist begins amid its intricate carvings and fortiied turrets. In music, impressionist scores by Falla and Debussy conjure up thetheat of Andalusia and the cool oases of the palaces’ shady gardens. Now, a century later, the Alhambra provides both the title of Hungarian composer Peter Eötvös’s new concerto for German violinist Isabelle Faust, and the location for its world premiere.