Event Details

Russian pianist Pavel Kolesnikov made his debut with us in 2014 as the winning Prize Laureate of Canada’s Honens Competition. His Wigmore debut earlier that year received a five-star review from The Telegraph as “one of the most memorable of such occasions London has witnessed in a while.” Pavel’s deeply-considered, highly-nuanced approach to music continues to make him one of the most interesting Russian and Eastern European artists on the piano scene today. As a youngster in Novosibirsk, Siberia, he took lessons on both violin and piano, but at age 16 made piano his main focus. Studies followed at the Moscow Conservatory and London’s Royal College of Music, where he studied  with Norma Fisher. His esteemed mentors today include Maria João Pires and Imogen Cooper. Pavel took part in BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists scheme and served as an RCM Benjamin Britten Piano Fellow. Recital and festival appearances have included Carnegie’s Zankel Hall, Berlin’s Konzerthaus, the Louvre (Paris), and in London, Wigmore Hall, Southbank Centre, and the BBC Proms. Critically acclaimed discs for Hyperion include Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons, Chopin Mazurkas (Diapason D'Or Award winner in 2016), a CD of Beethoven, and another of Baroque composer Louis Couperin.  Apart from music, painting, photography, and collecting vintage perfumes are among his main interests.

''Pavel Kolesnikov...has something that signals a unique individuality: he knows how to tell stories, without forcing his voice.''  —Diapason

“In every piece that he plays, you can see Kolesnikov searching for the crucial notes: somewhere in that wash that spans every register of the piano, there is a phrase that defines what makes this music special, and Kolesnikov is going to find it and bring it into focus for the listener.” —Bachtrack

PROGRAM

CHOPIN
Fantaisie Impromptu, Op. 66
Nocturne in F-sharp minor, Op. 15/2
Scherzo No. 3 in C-sharp minor, Op. 39
Prelude in D-flat, Op. 28/15

BEETHOVEN  Sonata in C-sharp minor Op. 27/2 (“Moonlight”)

Intermission

SCHUMANN  No. 1 from Nachtstücke, Op. 23
BARTÓK  ‘The Night's Music’ from Out of Doors
CHOPIN  Berceuse, Op. 57
DEBUSSY  Feux d'Artifice
BEETHOVEN  Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53 (“Waldstein")