Carnegie Hall audiences last heard Sergei Babayan in jaw-dropping concerts with his protégé, Daniil Trifonov. The veteran pianist returns in a recital comprising some of his most-celebrated repertoire. It begins with Liszt’s second ballade, as notable for its aching restraint as its thunderous eruptions; short piano works by Rachmaninoff, a composer especially close to Babayan’s heart; and a fantasia by Vladimir Ryabov, which, after a recent performance by Babayan, was called “the most startling discovery of the evening … something strikingly novel” (Bachtrack). The second half of the concert features a series of songs by Schubert, popularly transcribed for solo piano by Liszt, and Robert Schumann’s dramatic and many-faceted Kreisleriana, one of the composer's favorite works.
Thursday, November 2, 2023 7:30 PM Zankel Hall
Performers
Sergei Babayan, Piano
Program
LISZT Ballade No. 2 in B Minor
VLADIMIR RYABOV Fantasia in C Minor
RACHMANINOFF Étude-tableau in E-flat Minor, Op. 39, No. 5
RACHMANINOFF Étude-tableau in C Minor, Op. 39, No. 1
RACHMANINOFF Allegretto in E-flat Minor from Moments musicaux, Op. 16, No. 2
RACHMANINOFF Maestoso in C Major from Moments musicaux, Op. 16, No. 6
LISZT "Der Müller und der Bach" from Müllerlieder von Franz Schubert
LISZT "Aufenthalt" from Lieder aus Franz Schubert's Schwanengesang
LISZT "Auf dem Wasser zu singen" from 12 Lieder von Franz Schubert
LISZT "Die Stadt" from Lieder aus Franz Schubert's Schwanengesang
LISZT "Gretchen am Spinnrade" from 12 Lieder von Franz Schubert
R. SCHUMANN Kreisleriana
Rachmaninoff put it, music is the sister of poetry, but her mother is sorrow.”
Despite all his virtuosity, Babayan's playing rejects the cliché of the late romantic gesture. This technically brilliant pianist responds to the emotional turmoil of the first (Allegro agitato) or the fifth (Appassionato) piece from the Etudes Tableaux op. 39 with a turbulently speaking musical design, rather than with a thundering paw. This sounds like a seething, eruptive outburst of an inner monologue. At the same time, his playing can get lost in a wonderfully glittering manner in the impressionistically lit inner landscapes of the slow pieces. All beauty is at the same time permeated by deep melancholy, according to Rachmaninoff's statement that music is the sister of poetry, but its mother is grief. (Deutsche Grammophon)
Sergei Babayan is one of the leading pianists of our time. Hailed for his emotional intensity, bold energy and remarkable levels of color, Sergei Babayan brings a deep understanding and insight to an exceptionally diverse repertoire. Le Figaro has praised his “unequaled touch, perfectly harmonious phrasing and breathtaking virtuosity.” Le Devoir from Montreal put it simply: “Sergei Babayan is a genius. Period.”