Evgeny Kissin, one of the finest pianists of the age, gives a recital of formidable complexity: two great sonatas by Beethoven and Prokofiev frame two sets of fine pieces by Brahms and Rachmaninov.
Kissin’s programme opens with German Romanticism: Beethoven’s Sonata No 27 contrasts a passionate opening movement with a soulful second, and Brahms’s poetic early Ballades evoke a bygone era. Composed just 20 years apart, Rachmaninov’s Moments Musicaux are virtuoso, richly-textured pieces, and Prokofiev’s Second Sonata, while exhibiting moments of lyricism, looks to the future.
Evgeny Kissin has been thrilling audiences for much of his life, his gifts encapsulated by The Times: ‘all the hallmarks of his genius – and one does not use the word lightly – were on display: the rich, sonorous tone, the dazzling finger work and, above all, the inspired fantasy. So compelling is Kissin’s pianism, so fresh his response to even the most familiar phrases, that one hangs on every note.’
