Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody and Stravinsky's The Firebird

Alexander Malofeev with Rachmaninoff's Paganini Variations

“A world revolution on the piano” was how the press described the young Russian pianist Alexander Malofeev after a stunning performance in the Vienna Musikverein. He is now a phenomenon who has also made a deep impression in the Netherlands, including at the Concertgebouw. He is at the keyboard in Rachmaninov's impressive Paganini Variations . If Paganini's original was devilishly difficult, Rachmaninov manages to turn it into an unparalleled virtuoso fantasy that continues to fascinate from the first to the last note.

Stravinsky's impressive Firebird

There is even more Russian music in this concert, led by the Uzbek conductor Aziz Shokhakimov. He leads the Netherlands Philharmonic in Tchaikovsky's highly romantic interpretation of Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet . The fairy tale ballet The Firebird is at least as theatrical, but in the bright colors of Stravinsky. He compiled several suites from this first great success in his career, including one in 1919. An entirely new commissioned composition completes this program in the Russian atmosphere.