Blog №99. Master Pianist Series Jubilee

Today we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of «Master Pianist Series» in the famous Hall of the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam). The most famous pianists from around the world took part in this series during these years. Looking through concert posters, I feel proud of the fact that I was invited to take part in this series at the invitation of the organizers many times, because it is, without the slightest exaggeration, unique in every aspect series that sets a very high standard for pianists. This is prestigious pianist series, and not every famous concert hall can boast of a project like this.

Eighteen months ago, we recorded my solo concert in DVD format for the first time in the history of the Concertgebouw and of the series itself and I must say, it has a great success, and soon will be able to watch the record of this concert on the channel "Kultura", so do not miss it.

Marco Ryaskoff, the famous Dutch impresario and director of the series, invited me to create this anniversary evening program as the dedication to the Russian piano tradition: to celebrate the anniversary of the series and glorify Russian piano school at the same time. Pianists of various age and artistic vision, but sharing the connection with Russian pianistic tradition, will take part in this concert. They are a prominent pianist Alexei Volodin, Aleksandr Malofeev, who will have a debut today in Concertgebouw, Alexander Romanovsky, a famous Ukrainian pianist, Bekhzod Abduraimov, a young Uzbek pianist who has a connection with the Russian piano school and studies at Stanislav Yudenich’s class. 

I will not reveal all the details of the program, but I promise that the concert will be full of surprises and different interesting ensembles inside. Today Queen of the Netherlands is coming to our jubilee concert, which, of course, is a great honor for all participants. More good news for lovers of classical music - concert will be recorded and broadcast later, so you will have an opportunity to celebrate with us.

And I also would like to share another wonderful improvisation moment of my touring life with you. Yesterday, after our rehearsals at the Concertgebouw, we unexpectedly met with Valery Gergiev, who came here with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, which he led from 1995 to 2008. We were pleasantly surprised by the meeting, we talked, and Valery Gergiev wished us good luck. This unexpected and pleasant meeting is a good sign, I think. Do you agree?