International Chamber Music Series, Queen Elizabeth Hall / Shostakovich Piano Trio No.2 & Messiaen Quartet for the End of Time / Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Jörg Widmann

Denis Kozhukhin

Next Concerts

April 28, 2026

Vienna, Austria

Bernstein: Symphony No.2 ‘The Age of Anxiety’
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.6 in B minor, Op.74 ‘Pathétique’

– Sir Antonio Pappano (conductor)

Venue: Wiener Musikverein, Vienna

Link to the performance

April 30, 2026

Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Britten: Sinfonia da Requiem, Op.20
Bernstein: Symphony No.2 ‘The Age of Anxiety’
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.6 in B minor, Op.74 ‘Pathétique’

– Sir Antonio Pappano (conductor)

Venue: Alte Oper Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main

Link to the performance

Reviews

May 24th, 2013

“This was a devastatingly powerful rendition of Shostakovich’s music, all three performers marshalling the full weight of their technical and expressive forces to give a performance that was both compelling and heart-rending…

To see, and hear, four musicians so fully engaged in this timeless and transcendent music was extraordinarily powerful, and it seems appropriate to paraphrase Messiaen himself to describe the reaction of the audience: never before had we listened with such attention and understanding. The standing ovation at the end of the work was richly deserved: this was chamber music of the highest order.”

One Stop Arts, May 2013

“Most impressive was the desolate Largo. Kozhukhin gave the repeating chordal sequence a colossal weight, even when the volume shrank to pianissimo, and the two string players wound their melodic lines around it like a funeral shroud… “Normal” expressive playing seems inadequate to the task, and these performers were determined to push themselves to the limit. It was enormously impressive. ”

Daily Telegraph, May 2013

Video

Brahms: Fantasies No. 1 in D minor

In the Press

“Ravel’s Concerto in G takes us to completely different worlds. From that suggestive, almost hypnotic evocation of Debussy, we move on to a piece full of vitality, smiles, light-heartedness and, as its author intended, fun. Exultant fun from beginning to end, with hardly any respite, barely in the second movement, which never ceases to smile charmingly, albeit in a calmer way. Music that fits like a glove to the vitalistic nerve of the French maestro, who put all the rhythmic voltage into a vibrant accompaniment for the Russian soloist Denis Kozhukhin, who in turn demonstrated his excellent level once again.

As has been appreciated on previous occasions, the Russian’s sound is beautiful and has sufficient presence, although it does not dazzle. He shades beautifully and handles the pedal with general restraint, only occasionally overstepping that balance. He translated the fast-paced score apolloniously and with impeccable momentum, with a good dose of panache and fantasy, very successful realisation of the music’s jazzy resonances, and enviable intensity, connecting very well with the baton in a reading in which the rhythmic energy shone through.”