Behzod Abduraimov At Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium Recital Debut – November 17, 2016
Performing Bach Arrangements, Schubert, Beethoven, Prokofiev, Balakirev
November 10, 2016
NEW YORK, NY – Young Uzbekistani pianist Behzod Abduraimov returns to Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium on November 17, 2016. The accomplished musician has already earned great recognition and critical acclaim for his exceptional caliber of pianistic ability, and he is quickly establishing himself among the frontrunners of the current generation’s outstanding pianists. After making his New York recital debut in conjunction with his Carnegie debut in Weill Recital Hall in 2015 Mr. Abduraimov was praised by The New York Times: “This was playing of assurance and ideas: a tense Chopin, a Schubert slipping between stability and dissolution and ‘Gaspard’ as a surreal flood of colors, from the glassy opening of ‘Ondine’ to the trills in ‘Scarbo.’ Mr. Abduraimov came out with something to prove, and in the first Ballade the extremes — of tempo, volume and phrasing — stood out in stark, self-conscious relief, with an effect like that of looking at a landscape through the glare of the sun…Mr. Abduraimov will, I expect, have a long and distinguished career to show us.”
The 26-year-old made his recording debut in 2012 for Decca Classics with an album containing works by Saint-Saёns, Liszt and Prokofiev, including his dazzling Piano Sonata No. 6, which Mr. Abduraimov also plays at Carnegie Hall this fall. This recording received international praise, commending Abduraimov’s “stupendous technique…a thoughtfulness and depth beyond his years” (The Sunday Times) and “Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No 6…reveal[s] Abduraimov’s intellectual curiosity and an artistry that can only blossom” (International Piano). In addition to Prokofiev, Abduraimov carefully crafts a program ranging from compelling Bach arrangements, to the elegant Moment musicaux by Schubert, to Beethoven’s tempestuous “Appassionata” sonata, to Balakirev’s virtuosic Islamey.
Thursday, November 17, 2016 at 8:00 PM
Carnegie Hall – Stern Auditorium/Perlman Stage
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 musicaux in A-flat Major, D. 780, No. 2
SCHUBERT Moment musicaux 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
“This is a pianist who has it all: silky delicacy, mighty thunder-power, rare clarity and the ability to draw a remarkable variety of tonal colors from the instrument. All this is combined with a technical finesse…” –The Seattle Times
“His touch was precise yet flowing, delicate yet strong. (Not what I expected from a pianist who made his name with Prokofiev and Liszt.)” –The Charlotte Observer
“…a strong left hand, smart voicing and immaculate scales that never sounded as if they had made perfection their sole aim. In demeanor and musicianship alike, here is a pianist who is no-nonsense, yet never nondescript.” –The New York Times
“…young Uzbekistani pianist Behzod Abduraimov proved a hugely impressive soloist in Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto, technically in total command, poetic and stormingly rousing as the music demanded.” –Financial Times
About Behzod Abduraimov:
Described by The Times as the “master of all he surveys” and with The Washington Post noting to “keep your ear on this one,” Behzod Abduraimov’s captivating performances continue to receive international praise.
Upcoming North American highlights include a recital at the Stern Auditorium following his debut success at Carnegie Hall in 2015, as well as for the Van Cliburn Series, Carolina Performing Arts, the Vancouver Recital series and concerts with Houston and Pittsburgh, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and Minnesota Orchestra amongst others. Mr. Abduraimov has recently appeared at the Aspen Music Festival and with orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony and Seattle Symphony. In 2017, he will tour to Asia for performances with Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra, Beijing and Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and also embark upon a recital tour of Australia.
European highlights include the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lyon, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester as part of the Elb Philharmonie opening, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and further afield he will work with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. In recital, Abduraimov is one of the featured artists for the Junge Wilde series at the Konzerthaus Dortmund, he appears at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and returns to the Verbier Festival and La Roque d’Anthéron.
Recent seasons have seen Abduraimov’s work with leading orchestras worldwide, such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, NHK Symphony and Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestras, and prestigious conductors including Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Manfred Honeck, Vasily Petrenko, James Gaffigan, Jakub Hrusa, Thomas Dausgaard and Vladimir Jurowski. Last season he made his debut with the Münchner Philharmoniker under Gergiev featuring in their new 360 degree Festival and subsequently made his BBC Proms debut with them.
An award-winning recording artist – his debut recital CD won both the Choc de Classica and the Diapason Découverte – Mr. Abduraimov released his first concerto disc in 2014 on Decca Classics which features Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.3 and Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No.1 with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai under Juraj Valčuha.
Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 1990, Behzod began to play the piano at the age of five as a pupil of Tamara Popovich at Uspensky State Central Lyceum in Tashkent. He is an alumnus of Park University’s International Center for Music where he studied with Stanislav Ioudenitch, and now serves as the ICM’s artist-in- residence.
