March 2022
Repertoire
J. BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 83
P.I. TXAIKOVSKI: Symphony No. 5, Op. 64
Performers
Alexei Volodin, piano
Franz Schubert Filharmonia
Tomàs Grau, conductor
Programme notes
The Franz Schubert Filharmonia, the maestro Tomàs Grau and the pianist Alexei Volodin dedicate these concerts with the Bramhs Piano Concerto No. 2 and the Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony to those affected by the Russian attacks on Ukraine.
“I, Alexei Volodin, as a Russian musician, feel the need and responsibility to clarify to my audience and to the world that I strongly reject Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine and that I am against war.”
(Alexei Volodin, pianist)
“We are deeply saddened by the Russian army’s direct attacks on freedom and democracy. Our solidarity is with all the people of Ukraine and the victims of this conflict. ”
(Tomàs Grau, Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Franz Schubert Filharmonia)
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When Brahms premiered this concert, its success was undeniable and since then it has been one of the great challenges even for exceptional pianists. It is an extensive work of great difficulty and structured in four movements, with references to Gypsy music and moments of great beauty. On the day of the premiere, the orchestra was under particular pressure because Brahms did not only write the solo just for himself on piano, but he highlighted other fragments across different instruments – horn, oboe … – until the third movement in which the cello dialogue with the piano. Brahms’s symphonic concept of orchestral machinery is shown here in all its grandeur.
Tchaikovsky, after spending half his life making beautiful, colourful and joyful music, made a commitment to himself: he wanted to write music from within, music that spoke of his internal struggles and his concerns. He laid out a programme focusing on destiny and set out to write the Fifth. The result was an intense and brilliant work, full of contrasts, with lights and shadows that bring out all kinds of emotions.
CONCERT DATES
Volodin & Franz Schubert Filh
Biography Alexei Volodin
Acclaimed for his sensitivity and brilliant technique, Alexei Volodin is invited by the highest level orchestras. He possesses an extraordinarily diverse repertoire, from Beethoven and Brahms to Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, and Scriabin to Gershwin, Shchedrin, and Medtner.
Born in 1977 in Leningrad, he studied at the Gnessin Academy in Moscow and later, with Elisso Virsaladze at the Moscow Conservatory. In 2001 he continued his studies at the Lake Como International Piano Academy. He gained international recognition after his victory at the International Géza Anda Competition in Zurich in 2003.
Previous seasons have included concerts with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, The Mariinsky Orchestra, NCPA Orchestra China and the Antwerp Symphony, BBC and NHK. At the same time, his tours with the SWR Symphonieorchester, the Russian National Orchestra and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra stand out.
Volodin performs regularly in the most prestigious venues including the Wiener Konzerthaus, the Palau de la Música Catalana, the Mariinsky Theater, the Philharmonie Paris, the Alte Oper Frankfurt, the Tonhalle Zürichand the Madrid Auditorium. In the current season, the highlights are his concerts at the International Piano Series at the Southbank Centre, Wigmore Hall and the Meesterpianisten Series at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, as well as recitals in Bratislava, Ostrava, Den Haag, Oxford and Winnipeg.
Alexei Volodin is a frequent artist at the most prominent Festivals Bad Kissingen Sommer, La Roque d’Anthéron, Les Rencontres Musicals de Évian, La Folle Journée, White Nights Festival in Saint Petersburg and the Easter Moscow Festival.
Alexei Volodin is an exclusive artist for Steinway and Sons.