Alexander Gadjiev, piano

Programme:
Joseph Haydn, Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major, Hob. XVI: 46
Toru Takemitsu, Rain Tree Sketch II
Claude Debussy, L'Isle Joyeuse
*
Franz Liszt, Années de pèlerinage I (Suisse), S. 160
Les cloches de Genève (Nocturne) 
Orage 
Robert Schumann, Piano Sonata No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 11

Piano virtuoso Alexander Gadjiev, ambassador for the European Capital of Culture 2025 in Nova Gorica, consolidated his place among the leading pianists of his generation by taking second prize at the prestigious International Chopin Piano Competition and winning the Sydney International Piano Competition. A BBC New Generation Artists artist from 2019 to 2021 and recipient of the Italian Critics’ Best Soloist Award, Gadjiev combines the determination of a mature artist with an analytical and intellectual approach, captivating audiences through deeply personal musical insight.

These qualities are fully reflected in the announced programme, which unfolds a broad and stylistically varied palette of colours, moods, and impressions with distinctive artistry. Haydn’s playfulness and elegance give way to Takemitsu’s tribute to Messiaen, immersed in an echo of silence before dissolving into Debussy’s dance-like ecstasy. Subtle nostalgia, the delicate ringing of bells, and Liszt’s dynamically nuanced programmatic use of key in his piano miniatures ultimately culminate in the majestic discord between Schumann’s alter egos.