Glasperlenspiel Music Festival 2027
Mon, July 12th at 7 pm
NIETZSCHE CONTRA WAGNER
Tähe-Lee Liiv (piano)
Nietzsche, Wagner, Beethoven, Schumann
If we were to draw an imaginary circle around the centre of Tartu, less than a kilometre in diameter, it would include so-called “Spirit of Tartu”, St. John’s Church, the roots of Hermann Hesse, the Glasperlenspiel Music Festival, Nietzsche, Wagner… The small publishing house Vabamõtleja in Tartu recently published Friedrich Nietzsche. Võimu tahe, nihilism ja dekadents (‘Friedrich Nietzsche. The Will of Power, Nihilism and Decadence’), and the gigalomaniac tetralogy of the Nibelungs continues to be performed by the Vanemuine Theatre of Tartu.
So let us focus primarily on Nietzsche and Wagner, but… Robert Schumann was one of the most direct musical role models of the young Nietzsche, despite the fact that the philosopher later criticized Schumann’s work. Nietzsche’s piano pieces are characterized by Schummannian intimacy and poetic programmaticity. Beethoven’s drama and sentimentality were also admired by Nietzsche. His works show an attempt to achieve Beethovenian heroism and power, which can be felt, for example, in the piano piece Heldenklage.
The philosopher’s relationship with Wagner is clearly illustrated by the article from the 1990s Nietzsche contra Wagner by Peeter Vähi.
Liiv’s impressive interpretations demonstrate a clear and nuanced understanding of what Arvo Pärt’s music is about, in both its spiritual and material forms. (Gramophone, April 2024)
Born in 2003, Tähe-Lee Liiv is regarded as one of Estonia’s brightest rising stars in piano. The winner of numerous piano competitions at home and abroad, she has performed in solo recitals, chamber music concerts, and as soloist with orchestras in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Israel, Latvia, Sweden, Switzerland and the US.
She has made solo appearances in music festivals such as Lockenhaus, Austria; the Sibelius Festival and the Mänttä Music Festival in Finland; the Menuhin Festival Piano Academy in Gstaad, Valdarno and Palermo festivals in Italy. She has collaborated with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, New York Camerata, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, Jerusalem Kamerata, among others. The concertos that Tähe-Lee has performed encompass classical concertos by Beethoven, Grieg, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Haydn and Mozart, as well as such lesser-played works as Mendelssohn’s Double Concerto for piano, violin and orchestra as well as Fazil Say’s Silk Road.
Tähe-Lee’s debut CD Diagrams in 2023 with Estonian Records Productions label presents the complete piano works of Arvo Pärt, the celebrated Estonian composer of contemporary classical music, and received excellent reviews internationally. In 2026 her second CD featuring the works of Sibelius, Rautavaara, and Lindberg released on Da Vinci Classics.
Tähe-Lee is honoured to be RCM scholar. A graduate of the Tallinn Music High School, Accademia Perosi and the Sibelius Academy’s Young Musicians International Class, Tähe-Lee’s teachers have been Prof. Ivari Ilja, Prof. Hui-Ying Liu-Tawaststjerna… Since 2022 she has studied with Sir András Schiff at the Barenboim-Said Academy in Berlin.
See full festival program
Organizers:
Peeter Vähi – artistic director
Tiina Jokinen – executive director
Kadri Kiis – producer, accountant
Mart Kivisild – design
Olavi Sööt – co-producer, video, logistics
Reno Hekkonens – marketing director, PR
Johannes Vähi – co-producer, webmaster, sound engineering, logistics
Rebeca Birk – social media
Special thanks: Tartu City Government, Urmas Klaas, Triin Käpp, Jana Raud, Ministry of Culture of Estonia, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Heino Eller Music College, Kadri Leivategija, Tõnis Tamm, Diana Liiv, Canon and Overall, St John’s church, Kaupo Kiis, Kristel Leppik, volunteers
