Programme Guide

“If it were possible to cross conductors with one another, then Tugan Sokhiev would perhaps be the perfect blend of Christian Thielemann, Gustavo Dudamel and the Russian school.” This was how one critic described the debut of the young Ossetian with the Berliner Philharmoniker in January 2010. In this concert, Philharmoniker audiences once again have the opportunity to experience the multi-faceted qualities of this conductor.

He was joined by soloist Boris Berezovsky, who Gramophone magazine described as “the true successor to the great Russian pianists of the past”. The pianist and the Philharmoniker perform Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1, a work that exploits the tonal possibilities of the piano to the full – both in virtuosic fervour and in gentle lyricism.

The potential of various solo instruments is also fully exploited in Luciano Berio’s Sequenzas. In the case of Sequenza VI, it is the viola, played here by Amihai Grosz, who has been principal violist with the Berliner Philharmoniker since 2010.

In the two other works of the concert on the other hand – Sergei Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances and Albert Roussel’s ballet music Bacchus et Ariane – the whole broad colour spectrum of the orchestral sound is revealed. Roussel proves to be a composer who combines gorgeous impressionistic sophistication with unbridled temperament and certainly deserves a stronger presence in the concert world.