25.12.2018

Recitals by Famous Pianists at the Mariinsky International Piano Festival

On 22 December, the XIII Mariinsky International Piano Festival will open at two venues of the Mariinsky Theatre with recitals of Sergei Babayan, Denis Matsuev, and Alexandra Dovgan accompanied by the Mariinsky Orchestra under the baton of Valery Gergiev. The programme of the festival includes symphony concerts, performances by rising stars and recitals of renowned pianists. All in all, the Mariinsky International Piano Festival will feature five recitals held at the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre.

Valery Afanassiev, who is an extraordinary musician, pianist, conductor and writer, will appear in recital on 23 December (20.00). Afanassiev studied at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire under Jacob Zak and subsequently Emil Gilels. He has appeared in concerts throughout Europe, as well as Japan, Australia, and the United States. The pianists has recorded more than 70 CDs, the booklets for which he wrote himself. A thinking pianist who values harmony above all else, Afanassiev seeks to understand the composer’s vision, to come up with unique interpretations, and to add new colours to famous music works. His recital programme includes Joseph Haydn’s Piano Sonata No. 20 and Piano Sonata No. 44, as well as Four Ballades and Two Rhapsodies by Johannes Brahms.

Pianist Alexei Volodin, who is well-known to St Petersburg audiences, will present a mono programme dedicated to Sergei Rachmaninoff on 24 December (20.00). The virtuoso pianist is distinguished by his harmonious combination of emotions and intellect, depth, seriousness, and artistic manner. Alexei Volodin chose the rarely-performed Piano Sonata No. 1, a piece inspired by Goethe’s Faust (the sonata is divided into parts entitled Faust, Gretchen, and Mephistopheles), Piano Sonata No. 2 and Six moments musicaux for his recital.

Andrew Tyson, a young American pianist, will make his debut at the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre on 26 December (18.00). His manner is full of life; it is ingenious yet brave and harmonious. The programme of his recital includes Ottorino Respighi’s Notturno, Frédéric Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 3, and Maurice Ravel’s Miroirs. Andrew Tyson graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School. He has toured throughout the United States, Australia, South Korea, and Europe solo, with leading orchestras and as part of chamber ensembles. Tyson gave his first performance in Russia only a couple of years ago. But even before that we was a favorite with Russian audiences thanks to online broadcasts of various international competitions, at which he won top prizes.

Another mono recital will be performed by Sa Chen, a famous Chinese pianist and exclusive Steinway Artist, on 26 December (20.30). She will dedicate her debut performance at the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre to Claude Debussy as this year marks 100 years since the death of the composer. Sa Chen will perform Images I & II and Études, which Sviatoslav Richter described as “the most incomprehensible and dangerous piece of music of the 20th century.” Such a programme requires its performer to have innate musicality and refined taste, just the qualities Sa Chen is widely known for.

The series of recitals will conclude with a performance of Federico Colli (30 December, 20.00). The Italian pianist has always been a favorite with music critics. Federico first came to prominence after winning the Salzburg Mozart Competition in 2011 and the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2012. Since then, Colli has appeared with world-renowned orchestras at various venues including the Vienna Musikverein, the Berlin Konzerthaus, Paris’s Salle Cortot, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and the Rudolfinum in Prague. “You can’t but marvel at the sheer quality of his playing – his trills the epitome of crispness, his repeated notes sounding absurdly easy, while his command of dynamic extremes is second to none, ” wrote English monthly magazine Grammophone about the release dedicated to Domenico Scarlatti’s 16 Piano Sonatas. Colli chose eight sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti, as well as Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 23 (Appassionata) and Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition for his recital at the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre.

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