Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Tugan Sokhiev and Boris Berezovsky

Boris Berezovsky – “Ultra-virtuoso of the piano” (Der Tagesspiegel) – performs Franz Listz’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with conductor Tugan Sokhiev – a work that moves confidently between raging fury and delicate cantabile and at the same time extends the expression and tone of the piano to the limits of possibility. Other items on the programme include Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances and Albert Roussel’s far too little-known ballet Bacchus et Ariane.

“If it were possible to cross conductors with one another, then Tugan Sokhiev would perhaps be the perfect blend of Christian Thielemann, Gustavo Dudamel and the Russian school.” This was how one critic described the debut of the young Ossetian with the Berliner Philharmoniker in January 2010. In this concert, Philharmoniker audiences once again have the opportunity to experience the multi-faceted qualities of this conductor.

He was joined by soloist Boris Berezovsky, who Gramophone magazine described as “the true successor to the great Russian pianists of the past”. The pianist and the Philharmoniker perform Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1, a work that exploits the tonal possibilities of the piano to the full – both in virtuosic fervour and in gentle lyricism.

The potential of various solo instruments is also fully exploited in Luciano Berio’s Sequenzas. In the case of Sequenza VI, it is the viola, played here by Amihai Grosz, who has been principal violist with the Berliner Philharmoniker since 2010.

In the two other works of the concert on the other hand – Sergei Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances and Albert Roussel’s ballet music Bacchus et Ariane – the whole broad colour spectrum of the orchestral sound is revealed. Roussel proves to be a composer who combines gorgeous impressionistic sophistication with unbridled temperament and certainly deserves a stronger presence in the concert world.

Berliner Philharmoniker

Tugan Sokhiev

Boris Berezovsky

Amihai Grosz