Daniil Trifonov / Piano Recital

Daniil Trifonov

A few years ago, Daniil Trifonov visited the Essen Philharmonic Hall. Moving swiftly through the building, he navigated with remarkable precision. Known for his exceptional piano skills and unique musicality, Trifonov's playing transcends mere technical brilliance, creating an enchanting experience that's best appreciated live.

Daniil Trifonov

Piano Recital

Grigory Sokolov, photo: Mary Slepkova / DG Grigory Sokolov has worked hard to secure privileges that few contemporary musicians can boast. He gives practically no interviews, rarely visits the recording studio, has performed solo for a number of years and compiles his own recital programmes, without particularly hurrying to announce them. He first sat at a piano at the age of five, almost 70 years ago. Ever since he has been reluctant to part with his beloved instrument, especially during his lengthy performances, giving endless encores (at times as long as a separate recital). Paradoxically, he is a rare example of an artist who communicates with the outside world almost exclusively through his performances, which force reviewers into extraordinary, at times quite humorous, verbal gymnastics in search of the right concepts to describe the artistry of his playing and the aura he creates around him. A voluminous anthology of surprising metaphors might be compiled from the texts on Sokolov’s playing, which may suggest that it is impossible to capture the personality of this remarkable pianist, let alone his interpretations, in words. Bartłomiej Gembicki

Piano Recital

András Schiff, photo: Nadia F Romanini The repertoire will be announced by the artist on the stage.

Jakub Hrůša, Daniil Trifonov

»Yes, just love him, love him so much – but don’t forget that he achieved poetic freedom after years of study, go back to the foundation of his work, don’t prove his genius through the last symphony!« Schumann said this about Beethoven – and it is indeed the case that the Symphony No. 4, which Jakub Hrůša has chosen for this programme, is often treated somewhat like a Cinderella among the nine symphonies. Quite wrongly, because it is an equally masterful composition: it stands in B flat major, which is an expression of the »yearning for a better world« according to the symbolism of musical keys of a certain Mr Schubart, and is characterised by a friendly tone with many wonderful ideas. Our Chief Conductor combines it with an equally neglected piece from the pen of his beloved composer Dvořák. We will be playing the fascinating piano concerto together with the acclaimed pianist Daniil Trifonov: the wide-ranging work was premiered in Prague in 1878 and features a magnificent richness of deeply felt inspirations. We will first present the programme in Bamberg, but then also in Linz – and also travel to the birthplace of Jakub Hrůša, where we have something to celebrate: 1924 was the first time that the »Year of Czech Music« was celebrated.

Lang Lang / Piano Recital

An interviewer recently asked Lang Lang what his thoughts were about the word genius. The pianist answered that he thought nothing of it, adding that he was happy first and foremost to be a musician and to perform masterpieces from past and present for concert audiences. Lang Lang’s greatest aim in any concert, he went on, was to make a connection with the audience through music – to elicit emotions and to give something that people would remember. It’s nearly three years since Lang Lang gave his last solo recital in Hamburg. With a well-balanced programme of Gabriel Fauré, Robert Schumann and Frédéric Chopin, he will once again do the honours in the Grand Hall of the Elbphilharmonie.

Bruce Liu / Piano Recital

Every season, the »Master Pianists« concert series presents a promising young talent who has the potential to become a star. The choice was not difficult this time round: since his explosive success at the 2021 Chopin Competition in Warsaw, 25-year-old Bruce Liu has been literally swamped with concert offers. An exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon in spring 2022 was followed in the summer by an unprecedented triumphal procession from one European festival to the next. Liu’s recital programmes last year always included compositions by Rameau, Ravel, Liszt and Chopin – music that Bruce Liu connects with his native Paris, and that will also be on his first album. »Music has a power that helps me put my emotional house in order« – this is how the Canadian pianist with Chinese roots describes the importance of piano playing in his life.

Alexander Yakovlev / Piano Recital

Alexander Yakovlev is a graduate of the Rostov State Conservatory, where he also completed postgraduate studies with Sergei Osipenko and studied composition with Leonid Klinichev. He then studied at the Salzburg Mozarteum with Alexei Lyubimov and in Berlin at the University of the Arts with Pascal Devoyon. The pianist’s international career grew rapidly after he won the Chopin Competition in Rome in 2006. The Vatican radio broadcast of his performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor was heard around the world. After a series of notable debuts on such prestigious stages as Carnegie Hall in New York, Victoria Hall in Geneva, the Grand Hall of the Berlin Philharmonic and the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, Alexander Yakovlev has inspired an ever-growing public demand for his artistry.

Arcadi Volodos / Piano Recital

There is nothing the Russian pianist Arcadi Volodos could not play on his instrument. He quickly made a name for himself as a specialist in the highly virtuosic repertoire, but he also has a deep insight into the music like very few pianists of his generation. The Süddeutsche Zeitung accurately described him as »a searcher, a thinker, a spiritual musician«. Arcadi Volodos is the perfect artist to perform the music of Franz Schubert, who, with the piano sonatas of his middle and late creative period, opened the door to a sound cosmos of unfathomable breadth. The Piano Sonata D 845 – a work full of drama and dark passion – is a particularly beautiful part of that cosmos.

Andrea Merlo / Piano Recital

The Polish composer Frédéric Chopin, born in 1810, was considered a child prodigy: his piano playing was technically far ahead of his time, and his use of pedals greatly expanded the tonal and technical possibilities of the instrument. Although Chopin followed in the tradition of great role models such as Bach, Mozart and Schubert, he was also particularly influenced by Polish folk music and Italian bel canto. In Chopin’s music, melodies meet great musical demands. Selected piano works by Frédéric Chopin will be performed at the Laeiszhalle by Andrea Merlo, who studied at the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre and attracted attention as a soloist at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.