Virtuosity and More in Behzod Abduraimov’s Piano Recital

Behzodabduraimov

Behzod Abduraimov. From behzodabduraimov.com.

City Recital Hall, Angel Place: 26 March 2012
Abduraimov plays in Adelaide 29-31 March

Domenico Scarlatti - Three Keyboard Sonatas: Allegro in B minor Kk27, Allegro in G minor Kk450, Allegrissimo in D major Kk96
Beethoven – Sonata no. 7 in D, opus 10 no. 3
Brahms – Variations on a Theme of Paganini, opus 35: Book 1
Liszt (and Horowitz) (arr)Danse Macabre, S555 after Danse Macabre, opus 40 by Saint-Saëns
LisztHarmonies poétiques et religieuses, S173: 3. Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude,
Mephisto Waltz no. 1, S154

Behzod Abduraimov – piano

Having already played the Prokofiev 3rd Piano Concerto three times with Vladimir Ashkenazy last week, Behzod Abduraimov played this one-off recital, and a grueling one it was. It is a very nice idea, though, for the Sydney Symphony to arrange these solo recitals of some of their visiting pianists (there will be three more recitals this year) as we get a chance to hear more of their personal character than is expressed in the big symphonic concert hall with the orchestra. As the Symphony’s artistic director and chief conductor, and moreover as a great pianist himself, Ashkenazy has invited or at least agreed to play with, some wonderful and characterful pianists, especially Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and Stephen Hough last year. Behzod Abduraimov who only made his first tour a few years ago (with Ashkenazy and the SSO, as it happens), has a very definite style which he expresses always without reserve, his interpretations always having clarity. Even if it is different from your own thoughts or interpretation of a piece or from your favorite pianists (he is very different from Horowitz, though I believe the comparison has been made in the past) his style is strongly magnetic and his interpretations convincing enough to draw one into his musical world, and it is of course healthy and fun to hear new and varied interpretations of old favorites.

Read the full review on the Berkshire Review, an international journal for the Arts!