Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 / Chicago Symphony Orchestra, cond. van Zweden

Denis Kozhukhin

Next Concerts

June 12, 2026

Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

Brahms: Piano Concerto No.1 in D minor, Op.15

– Sunwook Kim (conductor)

Venue: Gyeonggi Arts Centre, Suwon-si

Link to the performance

June 13, 2026

Seoul, South Korea

Brahms: Piano Concerto No.1 in D minor, Op.15

– Sunwook Kim (conductor)

Venue: Seoul Arts Center, Seoul

Link to the performance

Reviews

December 20th, 2017

“ … Kozhukhin largely played with such innate authority, leonine command and poised yet unsentimental lyricism that he didn’t seem to be “interpreting” the music at all. Rachmaninoff’s long-limbed melodies were rendered with a supple poetic touch and natural empathy as much as Kozhukhin’s clarity and eruptive dynamism vaulted through the passages of breakout virtuosity.

The performance culminated in an exhilarating finale that led up to the final bars with mounting inexorability–the movement’s big tune given with rich resplendence in its final flowering and the race to the coda thrillingly played by Kozhukhin, van Zweden and the orchestra with their soloist every step of the way.

This was one of the rare times when the instant cheers and standing ovation were well deserved. The applause recalled the pianist back to the stage until he obliged with an encore–“La fille aux cheveux de lin” (The girl with the flaxen hair) from Book I of Debussy’s Preludes, rendered with limpid delicacy”

CHICAGO CLASSICAL REVIEW

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.”