Behzod Abduraimov

Thursday, November 17, 2016 8 PM Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage

Striking arrangements of Baroque music, poetic miniatures, tempestuous sonatas, and an exotic showpiece are performed by an exciting young pianist who is taking the world’s stages by storm. Behzod Abduraimov has been praised by The New York Times for his “fluid finger work … dash and appealing impetuosity.” Cortot’s arrangement of Bach’s "Siciliano" from the Concerto in D Minor, BWV 596, has a stately beauty, while Schubert’s Moments musicaux are understated gems with gorgeous melodies. Beethoven’s “Appassionata” is famous for its stormy outer movements, but the theme and variations that comprise its central movement also fascinate. There are also exciting showpieces by two Russian composers, Balkakirev and Prokofiev.

View Seating Chart (PDF)

Performers

Behzod Abduraimov, Piano

Program

BACH "Siciliano" from Concerto in D Minor, BWV 596 (after Vivaldi, Op. 3, No. 11; arr. Cortot)

BACH Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 (arr. Busoni)

SCHUBERT Moment musical in A-flat Major, D. 780, No. 2

SCHUBERT Moment musical in F Minor, D. 780, No. 3

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57, "Appassionata"

PROKOFIEV Piano Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 82

BALAKIREV Islamey

Encores:

TCHAIKOVSKY Nocturne in C-sharp Minor, Op. 19, No. 4

LISZT "La campanella" in G-sharp Major from Grandes Études de Paganini, S. 141, No. 3

Event Duration

The printed program will last approximately two hours, including one 20-minute intermission.

View Program Notes

At a Glance

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH “Siciliano” from Concerto in D Minor, BWV 596 (after Vivaldi, Op. 3, No. 11; arr. Cortot); Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 (arr. Busoni)

Ferruccio Busoni and Alfred Cortot are among the many pianists who have adapted Bach’s organ music for the modern piano. A few of these arrangements, such as Busoni’s dazzlingly virtuosic arrangement of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, are almost as well known as the originals.

FRANZ SCHUBERT Moments musicaux No. 2 in A-flat Major and No. 3 in F Minor, D. 780

Schubert’s short Moments musicauxdistill the essence of his lyrical genius in its purest and most concentrated form. Like Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words, each of the six miniature musical narratives seems to express a subliminal text that transcends the bounds of spoken language.

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57, “Appassionata”

A masterpiece of Beethoven’s middle period, the “Appassionata” Sonata stands out both for its explosively dramatic character and its concentrated economy of expression. The work’s formidable technical challenges reflect the composer’s legendary virtuosity at the keyboard.

SERGEI PROKOFIEV Piano Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 82

Known for his steely-fingered precision at the keyboard, Prokofiev wrote some of the 20th century’s most brilliant and percussive keyboard music. The Sixth Sonata exudes a mood of anxiety rather than belligerence; its waltz-like slow movement recalls the two ballet scores that Prokofiev was working on around the same time: Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella.

MILY BALAKIREV Islamey

Balakirev was the guiding light of the group of Russian nationalist composers known as the “Mighty Handful.” His interest in Slavic musical traditions extended to the ethnic groups of Russia’s Far West: Islamey, subtitled an “Oriental Fantasy,” was inspired by Balakirev’s visits to the Caucasus region in the 1860s.

Bios