Rafal Blechacz, Piano
Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 8:00 p.m.
Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall
Program
BACH Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827
BEETHOVEN Sonata in D Major, Op. 10, No. 3
DEBUSSY Suite Bergamasque
SZYMANOWSKI Sonata No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 8
About Rafal Blechacz
In 2005, a young Polish pianist was the uncontested winner of the 15th Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw. What’s more, Rafal Blechacz took home special prizes for the best performances of mazurka, polonaise, concerto and sonata as well. That led to an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon, which in turn led to “Best of the Year” honors from Gramophone Magazine for Mr. Blechacz’s recording of the Chopin Piano Concertos. With those bona fides, the young Pole is ideally suited to perform the varied works on this concert, including Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque, inspired in part by gossamer lines like these:
Their song mingles with the pale moonlight,
The calm, pale moonlight, whose sad beauty, beaming,
Sets the birds softly dreaming in the trees…
Verlaine’s poem, Moonlight, was the basis of the Suite’s third movement, the achingly beautiful Clair de Lune. It promises to be an exquisite moment not to be missed.