Piano Recital Julia Achkinazy: Brahms, Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev

Powerful program

Julia Achkinazy grew up in the tradition of great pianists in Saint Petersburg, Weimar and Amsterdam. With her 4th solo recital in the Concertgebouw, she presents a dualistic and powerful program. After the great piano sonatas by Schumann, Liszt and Chopin, Julia opts for the rich form of variation and great contrasts in this recital, in which a multi-coloured piano palette, delicate touch and virtuosity have become necessary means of expression.

Broken light

The divine light of Bach's 'Weinen', 'Klagen', 'Sorgen', 'Zagen', transformed into the variation form by Franz Liszt, is followed by the loving and harmonious 'Prélude, fugue et variations' by César Franck. Brahms' fascination with the phenomenon of Paganini, the devil's artist, results in two series of variations in which the composer reduces Paganini's theme to its essence and then gives it his own colouring.

The second part is in great contrast to the works from before the break. Pain, struggle, hope and fight to break the inner light. Prokofiev's 'Seventh Sonata' touches on the power of chaos and anger but is essentially about the question: what is the meaning of human life? The answer lies in the last musical climax: life force and love for all living things.