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Francisco Coll’s Piano Concerto for Kirill Gerstein premiered on 26 and 27 March with Simon Rattle and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. The 21-minute work is cast in three movements. 'Humoresque (impromptu)' opens the piece with wild abandon; 'Paisaje' – meaning panorama, or landscape - sees the piano spin out long, quasi-improvisatory lines, from which huge expressive climaxes emerge. It concludes with a manic, jazz-inspired finale – ‘Rag’ – that suggests a player piano whose ferocious mechanisms are flying out of control. Listen to the broadcast on BR Klassik here.

…a sensational world premiere…a magnificent, playfully organized sonic chaos erupts. Music brimming with decisiveness and unbridled joy in expressiveness – both in its composition and its sonic realization…the middle movement…dynamically builds from a quiet beginning to a dazzling orchestral ecstasy, is no less restrained. A truly memorable experience…thunderous applause for the composer and the musicians.

Süddeutsche Zeitung (Andreas Pernpeintner) 27 March 2026

…the solo concerto has been experiencing a renaissance…but it took until the recent world premiere Coll's piano concerto to fully grasp the implications…[Coll] unites different aspects of the genre…one might think oneself listening to a deliberately grotesque parody of an overly Romantic virtuoso concerto, complete with full-bodied cadenzas, were it not for the classical structure…[soloist and orchestra] interact, sometimes against each other, sometimes exchanging musical ideas, or forming a large jazz combo.

Abendzeitung München (Marco Frei) 27 March 2026

Gerstein ripped across the keyboard at breakneck speed in the wild outer movements, sometimes even striking it with the palm of his hand…with the equally spirited orchestra they created an often quirky, sometimes shrill…and lightly jazzy soundscape…the slow movement is in sharp contrast, but nevertheless led to a tremendous outburst, but ultimately dissolving in the solo piano…as a highly virtuosic encore, [Gerstein] treated us to another wildly entertaining piece by Coll.

Münchner Merkur Stadtausgabe (Gabrielle Luster) 28 March 2026

A thunderous world premiere…brought to life with impeccable virtuosity and commitment…Gerstein transcribed its manifold musical layers into sounding reality of utmost detailed articulation and rhythmic precision, combined with deep-rooted poetry and befitting jazz appeal, especially in the Rag.

Adventures in Music (Jari Kallio) 27 March 2026

The Piano Concerto was commissioned by Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. It will receives its Spanish premiere in Valladolid with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León in April and its Australian debut, conducted by Jaime Martín, in May.

Gerstein’s encore was the first of Coll’s Two Waltzes Toward Civilization. The pianist premiered the 10-minute work inspired by Lorca’s Poet in New York in December 2024  at Chamber Music in Napa Valley before outings at Severance Hall, Carnegie Hall and the Salle Bourgie, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal – a tour lauded by critics. In spring 2025 Gerstein gave European premieres of the work at Saffron Hall, Teatro Petruzzelli (Bari), Don Bosco (Basel), the Musikverein, the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, and the Boulez Saal.  Just as Lorca’s verse teeters on the point of crisis, Coll’s dramatic, colourful music of extremes exists on a knife edge.

The work complements two existing compositions for piano and orchestra in Coll’s catalogue: the Piano Concertino (2012) – written for Nicolas Hodges and subsequently performed by Thomas Adès and the CBSO – and Ciudad sin sueño (2023) – a 20-minute fantasia for piano and orchestra premiered by Javier Perianes and Gustavo Gimeno in February 2024 in London and Toronto. Loosely following the pattern of Manuel de Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain, it is a concertante with a special spotlight on the solo piano, and inspired by flamenco.