Behzod Abduraimov to Give Stern Recital Hall Debut

Young Uzbekistani pianist Behzod Abduraimov returns to Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium on November 17, 2016. The accomplished musician has already earned great recognition and critical acclaim for his exceptional caliber of pianistic ability, and he is quickly establishing himself among the frontrunners of the current generation's outstanding pianists. After making his New York recital debut in conjunction with his Carnegie debut in Weill Recital Hall in 2015 Mr. Abduraimov was praised by The New York Times: "This was playing of assurance and ideas: a tense Chopin, a Schubert slipping between stability and dissolution and 'Gaspard' as a surreal flood of colors, from the glassy opening of 'Ondine' to the trills in 'Scarbo.' Mr. Abduraimov came out with something to prove, and in the first Ballade the extremes - of tempo, volume and phrasing - stood out in stark, self-conscious relief, with an effect like that of looking at a landscape through the glare of the sun...Mr. Abduraimov will, I expect, have a long and distinguished career to show us."

The 26-year-old made his recording debut in 2012 for Decca Classics with an album containing works by Saint-Sa?ns, Liszt and Prokofiev, including his dazzling Piano Sonata No. 6, which Mr. Abduraimov also plays at Carnegie Hall this fall. This recording received international praise, commending Abduraimov's "stupendous technique...a thoughtfulness and depth beyond his years" (The Sunday Times) and "Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No 6...reveal[s] Abduraimov's intellectual curiosity and an artistry that can only blossom" (International Piano). In addition to Prokofiev, Abduraimov carefully crafts a program ranging from compelling Bach arrangements, to the elegant Moment musicaux by Schubert, to Beethoven's tempestuous "Appassionata" sonata, to Balakirev's virtuosic Islamey.

Thursday, November 17, 2016 at 8:00 PM
Carnegie Hall - Stern Auditorium/Perlman Stage

BACH "Siciliano" from Concerto in D Minor, BWV 596 (after Vivaldi, Op. 3, No. 11; arr. Cortot)
BACH Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 (arr. Busoni)
SCHUBERT Moment musicaux in A-flat Major, D. 780, No. 2
SCHUBERT Moment musicaux in F Minor, D. 780, No. 3
BEETHOVEN Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57, "Appassionata"
PROKOFIEV Piano Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 82
BALAKIREV Islamey