West Australian Symphony Orchestra / cond. Arvo Volmer / Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3

Denis Kozhukhin

Next Concerts

Jun 11, 2023

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Link to the performance

Jul 8, 2023

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Montreal, CANADA - Amphithéâtre Fernand-Lindsay

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Link to the performance

Reviews

June 17th, 2013

“Many years ago, I heard Julius Katchen in Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. Until the weekend, I had never encountered a performance to match it. But on Friday, at his first performance in Perth, Denis Kozhukhin, the young Russian pianist, did just that in an electrifying account of one of the toughest keyboard assignments in the repertoire.

Building up to shattering climaxes, Kozhukhin, like some pianistic Zeus, hurled bolts of sound into the auditorium and, with fearless fingers and phenomenal finesse, steered a faultless way through pages that are unconquerable Everests for most other musicians. So attuned was this extraordinary pianist to the subtleties of the score, it seemed as if the presentation was more a form of communion between pianist and composer than mere communication between soloist and audience…

And in response to a storm of ecstatic applause, Kozhukhin gave us, as encore, Siloti’s arrangement of Bach’s Prelude in B minor. After the pianistic pyrotechnics of the concerto, the unfolding of these serene measures was an oasis of tranquillity. Bravissimo!”

The West Australian, June 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.”

Read full interview on Scherzo