Behzod Abduraimov Thursday 18 January 2018 7.30pm, Hall

Wagner, arr Liszt Isolde’s Liebestod, S447 Liszt Piano Sonata in B minor, S178 interval 20 minutes Schubert Moment musical No 2, D780 Schubert, arr Liszt Valse caprice No 6 Prokofiev Piano Sonata No 6, Op 82

Behzod Abduraimov piano

Part of Barbican Presents 2017–18 Nissor Abdourazakov

Programme produced by Harriet Smith; printed by Trade Winds Colour Printers Ltd; advertising by Cabbell (tel. 020 3603 7930) Confectionery and merchandise including organic ice cream, quality chocolate, nuts and nibbles are available from the sales points in our foyers.

Please turn off watch alarms, phones, pagers etc during the performance. Taking photographs, capturing images or using recording devices during a performance is strictly prohibited.

If anything limits your enjoyment please let us know The City of London during your visit. Additional feedback can be given Corporation is the founder and online, as well as via feedback forms or the pods principal funder of located around the foyers. the Barbican Centre 2 simple waltzes by Schubert,whichis Tristan undIsolde reworking of theLiebestod from Wagner’s as transcriber, from hisextraordinary fitting centrepiece. We alsohearLiszt with hismightyBminorSonata a Liszt features heavily intheprogramme, of thrillingpianismandprobing musicality. across themusicworld for hiscombination Still only27, hehasbeenmakingwaves BehzodAbduraimov to theBarbican. Tonight we welcome theyoung Uzbek Welcome

Available on iTunes, Soundcloud and the Barbican website Barbican the and Soundcloud iTunes, on Available Evgeny Kissin, andNicoMuhly. Iestyn Davies, Joyce DiDonato, SirHarrisonBirtwistle, Sir JamesMacMillan, George Benjamin,Andrew Norman, artists from around theworld. Recent artists include for exclusive interviews andcontent from thebestclassical Stream ordownload ourBarbican ClassicalMusicpodcasts Barbican Classical MusicPodcasts to hisparaphrase on Huw Humphreys, Head of Music,Barbican I hopeyou enjoy theconcert. favourite withpianistsandaudiencesalike. 1940 radio broadcast andithaslongbeena when itwas premiered by thecomposerina evening, theSixth.Itcertainly turnedheads Concerto andthesonata we hearthis heart –hehasalready recorded theThird Prokofiev isacomposer closeto Behzod’s Schubert’s second prefaced by another charmingwork –

Moment musical . Piano Sonata in Bminor, in S178 Sonata Piano to besimultaneously moved anddevastated? transcendent chord of Bmajor, how couldwe fail or orchestra isneeded,andaswe reach thefinal of Liszt’sLiebestod isthatwe realise thatnovoice Lohengrin play here (andheconducted thepremiere of experience onthepodiumsurely comesinto original, beyond minor emendations.Hisimmense It works becausehedoessolittleto Wagner’s Isolde singsover thebodyof herbeloved Tristan. and not losetheintensity of themoment,as reached onlyafter nearlyfive hoursof music, extraordinary passage, whichinthetheatre is Liszt’s achievement here isto take this transfiguration. Wagner having merely describeditasIsolde’s name (whichtranslates literally as‘Love–Death’), in allmusic.Itwas Lisztwhoactually gave itthis sensuous –andfamous –depictionsof erotic love music drama an ending.TheLiebestod thatclosesWagner’s Behzod Abduraimov beginstonight’s recital with Liszt Franz S447Isolde’s Liebestod, arr Wagner Richard Franz , noless,inWeimar in1850). Thegenius Tristan undIsolde is one of the most isoneof themost (1811–86) (1813–83), (1813–83), Liszt may well have got the idea of working composed after Beethoven andSchubert’. most original,powerful andintelligent sonata recent times, summeditupas‘the deep andnoble,sublimeeven asthyself’. Inmore calling it‘beautifulbeyond allconception;lovely, perhaps not surprisingly, hurledsuperlatives atit, this andfinds itbeautifulisbeyond help’.Wagner, Hanslick pronounced, ‘Anyone whohasheard hear it),whilethefamously vitrioliccriticEduard dedicated to herhusband,buthenever got to Clara Schumannthoughtlittleof thework (itwas his ultimate masterpiece. Itwas not always so: the BminorSonata isregarded by many as transcribers for thepiano,amonghisown music While Lisztwas unquestionablyoneof thegreatest writing thesonata, whichdates from 1852–3. arranged for piano andorchestra shortlybefore ‘Wanderer’ Fantasy, thelatter apiecethathe’d Beethoven’s NinthSymphony andSchubert’s single, through-written entityfrom thefinale of the characteristics of several movements into a

( c 1867) 1867) (1852–3) (1852–3)

3 Programme notes 4 work areligious subtext); another lyricalidea, regis prodeunt tone thenaminorthird, to theplainsong as well asreferring, through themotif of arising subject andadds aluminosityto theproceedings, marked sinister repeated-note figure; aDmajortheme, octave figure withdotted rhythm; theanswering descending scale;anenergetic, upward-leaping answered by aslow-moving, tonally ambiguous quietly stabbing Gs,with their dramatic pauses, built from afew highlyindividualelements:the both theslow movement andthescherzo.Itis and wide-ranging development sectionsupplies recapitulation to thefinale, whiletheextended exposition isequivalent to thefirst movement, the If we divideLiszt’sSonata into four parts,the Grandioso (whichhasledsometo give the , that functions as a second , thatfunctionsasasecond Vexilla interval seraphic floating chords. mysterious opening,whichisfinally resolved by his secondthoughts,witharapt codareprising the triumphant ending;how muchmore effective are closing bars.Originallyheintended avehemently and silence.Thisispotently demonstrated inthe and heart-meltingbeauty, of, ultimately, sound astounding ishiscommandof rhetorical drama mood completely by changingitscontext; noless that Lisztcantake asinglemotif andtransform its One of themany marvels of thispieceistheway F sharp major. theme, breathing theotherworldly airof again inDmajor;andthe‘slow’-movement 20 minutes

the homekey of Aflat. coming to agentlyrocking closethatemphasises more to theopeningidea,again varied but is quicklyquelled,however, andwe return once now impassionedandmuchmore assertive; it of Fminor, themotif thatwas initiallymournful directions andwe thenare interrupted by ablast minor; themainideareturns, butistaken infresh followed by ahushedmournfulsectioninFsharp uses increasingly unexpected harmonies.This is that initiallyseemsreassuring, thoughSchubert with agrounded chordal theme,gentlydotted, Winterreise masterpieces asthetwo pianotriosand making itcontemporary withsuchheavyweight mood. Thesecondwas probably written in1827, modest technical demands,they range widelyin together to form asetin1828. Despite their years of thecomposer’slife andwere gathered The six matters are never entirely straightforward. concerned, even athismostapparently many technical intricacies. Butwhere Schubertis charm theamateur market, whileavoiding too of earlyRomantic composers,designedto impromptus, were thebread-and-butter offerings Moments musicaux Aminor 6 in No Valse caprice D780 major, Aflat 2 in No musical Moment Franz Schubert Moments musicaux . Withatimesignature of 9/8,itopens ( c 1827) , along with dances and , alongwithdancesand date from thelastfive

gemütlich Franz Liszt Franz , arr (1797–1828) , don’t losethespiritof Schubertineven themost of theoriginals.Hisachievement isthatwe transforming theminto brilliantparaphrases host of Schubertdancesandgarlandedthem, the of hisLieder).Heisinmore virtuosomodefor is revealed inthewondrously effective reworkings scale. Lisztrevered Schubert (andhow tellingly that as effective are hisreworkings onamore modest But itwasn’t allaboutmightymasterpieces –just hands atasinglekeyboard. the essenceof awork armedonlywithapairof to Verdi’s operatic tragedies, hecouldcapture in musichistory –from Beethoven symphonies one of themostcreative transcribers for thepiano As we’ve already heard thisevening, Lisztwas Schubert’s originals. originals. Schubert’s bringing deliciouslyidiomaticrecolourings to D779 No 13). Theresult isentirely felicitous, D969 Nos9and10 andthe is basedonthree Schubertdances( approachable interms of technical difficulty and dazzling passagework. No 6isoneof themore Soirées deVienne

(1852) , in which he took a whole , inwhichhetook awhole

Valse sentimentale

Valses nobles , ,

5 Programme notes 6 by the composerhimself,on8April1940, via of the20thcentury’.Itwas introduced to theworld animates hismusicwiththedevastating pulsations the composerbreaks withromantic ideals and power of thethisone: ‘With abarbaricboldness sonatas (Nos 6–8),was quickto recognise the who becameanearlychampionof allthree ‘war’ Sonata we canonlyspeculate! , What MrAldrichwould have made of theSixth composer rubbinghishandsinglee: 1918, was typicalof itstime,andprobably had the appeared inthe of theSecondSonata by Richard Aldrich,which finesse thanheftandpure velocity). Thisreview his own recordings, hisplaying was more about of hisaudience(even though,aswe know from delighted inrilingthemore conservative members In hisearlierworks inparticular, Prokofiev Vivace 4 lentissimo valzer 3 Tempo di 2 Allegretto moderato 1 Allegro Amajor, 6 in 82 No Op Sonata Piano Sergey Prokofiev legitimately serve asmodelsfor moods. rage –disgust, despair, mockery anddefiance emotions. Hatred, contempt, rage –above all, is discarded. Heisapsychologist of theuglier The Houseof Bondage of normalkey relations Schoenberg, theentire modernharmonies. Asiatic plateau …Prokofiev uses,like Arnold of mammoths onsomevast immemorial of thework evoked visions of acharge sustained musicaldevelopment. Thefinale The Sonata, asecondone,contains no New York Times on21 November indication vigorous glissandosandclusters of notes given the brilliantly inadevelopment thatissetalightby melancholic secondaryidea.Theseare combined motif of enormousenergy whichcontrasts witha piano itself,withaterse, migraine-inducing it’s asifProkofiev hasdeclared war onthe It grabs theattention withsuchimmediacy that denounced by Stalin’s regime. (though perhapsunderstandably) itwas rapidly the blatant brutality too muchto bear;ironically of theEighth,reviews were mixed, somefinding a broadcast onMoscow Radio. Asinthecase into agentlermelody(where theincessant where buffoonery meetsstrength before melting offering grimlylightrelief inamarching scherzo The Allegretto thatfollows isclassicProkofiev, Programme notes ©HarrietSmith of Prokofiev’s mostoutlandishly virtuosicpages. movement before manicenergy resumes in some reminiscence of themainideaof theopening mécanique superhuman demandswithitsacrobatic The finale returns us(orrather thepianist)to seemed to comesoeasilyto thiscomposer. slow, withoneof thoseyearning melodieswhich Next, aplaintive waltz, in9/8,undanceably background). marching rhythm is to someextent pushedinto the (1891–1953) col pugno , theonlyrespite comingfrom a (‘with the fist’). (‘withthefist’).

(1939) (1939) style style

Nissor Abdourazakov include concerts with the NDR Elbphilharmonie include concertswiththeNDRElbphilharmonie well asattheLucerneFestival. Recent highlights Orchestra andthe BBC Symphony Orchestra, as orchestras, hr-Sinfonieorchester, Philharmonia Orchestra, Czech andMunichPhilharmonic include concertswiththeRoyal Concertgebouw Current andforthcoming European highlights Festspielhaus andRheingauFestival. also made notable debutsattheBaden-Baden under Gergiev, returning there lastyear. Hehas Proms withtheMunichPhilharmonicOrchestra He made anacclaimed debutatthe2016 BBC Jurowski. James Gaffigan, JakubHru Ashkenazy, ,, conductors suchasValery Gergiev, Vladimir Gewandhausorchester, aswell aswithprestigious NHK Symphony orchestras andtheLeipzig the LosAngelesPhilharmonic,Boston and leading orchestras worldwide, including Behzod Abduraimov hasworked with Behzod Abduraimov About the performer Behzod Abduraimov piano o ša andVladimir

RAI NationalSymphony Orchestra under Juraj No 3 andTchaikovsky’s Concerto No 1withthe Classics), featuring Prokofiev’s PianoConcerto he released hisfirst concerto disc(onDecca Classica andtheDiapasonDécouverte. In2014 His debutrecital CDwon both theChocde Orchestra. Symphony orchestras andtheMinnesota with theHouston, Montréal andPittsburgh Carnegie Hallin2015; hehasalsogiven concerts Stern Auditorium, following his successfuldebutat orchestras. Lastseasonhegave arecital inthe returns to theDallasandAtlanta Symphony his debutwiththeSanFrancisco Symphony and Bowl, BlossomandRavinia festivals. Hewillmake In NorthAmericaheappearsattheHollywood Truls Mørk,touring inEurope andAmerica. Hall . Healsocollaborates withthecellist Prinzregententheater MunichandTchaikovsky Concertgebouw, LouisVuitton Fondation Paris, Konzerthaus andperforms attheAmsterdam for theJungeWildeseriesatDortmund As arecitalist heisoneof thefeatured artists Orchestra. opening, andwiththeLondonSymphony Orchester aspartof theElbphilharmonie in-Residence. Ioudenitch, andnow serves astheICM’sArtist- Center for Music,where hestudiedwithStanislav is analumnusof Park University’s International Uspensky State Central Lyceum inTashkent. He piano attheage of 5withTamara Popovich at Uzbekistan, in1990, andbeganto studythe Behzod Abduraimov was borninTashkent, Valcˇ uha.

7 About the performer Star in 2018

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet plays Debussy Sun 25 Mar Piotr Anderszewski plays the Diabelli Variations Wed 11 Apr

Images: Jean-Efflam Bavouzet Benjamin Ealovega Piotr Anderszewski MG de Saint Venant Book now at barbican.org.uk/classical

Star Pianists A5 programme ad.indd 1 12/01/2018 11:28