ConcertPulse
Mariam Batsashvili / Piano Recital
Elbphilharmonie, Kleiner Saal (Hamburg)
Franz Liszt is a recurrent theme throughout Mariam Batsashvili’s life. For example, the Georgian pianist not only studied at the University of Music in Weimar named after Liszt, she also successfully took part in the International Franz Liszt Competition for Young Pianists there and won the Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Utrecht in 2024. And, besides Frédéric Chopin, her debut album from 2019 is also dedicated to the Austro-Hungarian composer. So, there is no question that she has now brought along several works by Liszt to kick off the »Pianomania« series in which this time everything revolves around the theme of »Transcriptions« – and with him probably one of the most ingenious arrangers in the history of music. In her programme, Batsashvili reveals what kind of magnificent new music Liszt created from opera melodies by Handel, Mozart and Gounod. Also, the Austrian composer Sigismund Thalberg took a Bellini opera as a template when he wrote his virtuoso »Grande Caprice«. With a concerto in the style of Alessandro Marcello, Batsashvili also demonstrates that even a genius like Johann Sebastian Bach was not afraid of re-arranging works by others before he then became the template for numerous arrangements himself. One of the most famous works in this respect is surely the rendering of Bach’s Chaconne in D minor. Originally composed for solo violin, it was arranged for the piano by Ferruccio Busoni. Batsashvili also presents Busoni’s version in her concert.