Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra 'Diary of a Madman'

‘At the beginning of 2021, I wrote the cello concerto ‘Diary of a Madman’, inspired by Gogol's famous short story about Poprishchin, a government employee who gradually descends into madness. The cello concerto was premiered in January 2022 by the Munich Philharmonic under Giedre Šlekyte with Gautier Capuçon as soloist. Nikolai Gogol (or more correctly transliterated from Ukrainian: Mykola Hohol) was a brilliant writer born in Ukraine, the father of Russian-language literature and a visionary far beyond his time. I have been fascinated by his work all my life. Ten years ago, when I was composing my opera Gogol, I read everything he had ever written over and over again. I didn't think of Vladimir Putin when I was composing the cello concerto. Now, however, an uncanny association suddenly resonates in Gogol's story with it. ‘Notes of a Madman’ is the story of a simple government official government official with an inconspicuous, unassuming personality. In his increasingly demented diary entries, Poprishchin claims that a state ‘cannot be without a king’. In the course of the plot, he becomes more crazy and megalomaniac and finally believes himself to be king on ‘43 April 2000’. (Vladimir Putin was first elected President of Russia on 7 May 2000. Gogol wrote his story in 1835!). In the end, Poprishchin ends up in a lunatic asylum.
Perhaps Gogol, the visionary and one of the greatest writers who ever lived, could see beyond the 19th and 20th centuries - into the heart of the 21st century, where we are condemned to continue the eternal story.
Gogol's visions and nightmares become reality, and the whole world turns into a madhouse as the great tragedy takes its course. Who will stop the madman?
When I work on large-scale pieces, I usually approach similar themes through visual art - painting or sculpture. While working on the cello concerto, for example, I completed my bronze sculpture ‘Totentanz’ from the ‘Music in Bronze’ series. ‘Totentanz’ is my reflection on death, fire and destruction. The burning music engraved in the body of the sculpture is ‘Memento mori’. Working on paintings and sculptures has become an indispensable part of my creative process. Sometimes I joke that I make fine art instead of seeing a psychiatrist. Through visual art, I can approach certain themes from a different perspective and with different means than music.’ (Lera Auerbach)