Here's your disc of the week for March 31, 2013. Each week CBC Radio 2's In Concert looks at new classical music releases and selects one recording that you'll want to know about.
Artist:Pavel Kolesnikov, piano.
Repertoire: Highlights from his award-winning performances at the Honens International Piano Competition including solo works by Beethoven, Schumann and Chopin along with Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1.
Label:Honens.
Last fall, a soft-spoken 23-year-old Russian pianist named Pavel Kolesnikov stood on the stage of the Jack Singer Concert Hall in downtown Calgary and received a cheque for $100,000 and the right to call himself a "complete artist" after winning the Honens International Piano Competition. Kolesnikov surpassed nine other finalists from around the world to take one of the richest cash awards on the competitive classical music circuit, along with close to half a million dollars worth of career development assistance.
Kolesnikov, a slight young man with blond curls and a winning smile, clearly appealed to the attentive Calgary audience, as well as the distinguished jury, with his poetic performances. He approached this grueling ten-day competition as though it was just another opportunity to share some intimate musical story-telling with a few close friends.
And it's just that kind of artist that the Honens competition is looking to support. Rather than honouring the flash-and-dazzle technical wizards who often take the top honours, Honens rewards those musicians who are comfortable chamber music collaborators, are able to communicate their ideas verbally as well as at the keyboard and show an aesthetic curiosity that extends well beyond slogging it out in the practice room.
For Kolesnikov, the win brings concert engagements around the world, professional management and the chance to record. His first release: a handsome package featuring live performances from all three rounds of the Honens competition. He's presented here in several solo works: Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and Schumann's Kinderszenen show Kolesnikov at his most lyrical. And he shines as a true creative partner in a performance of Mendelssohn's second Sonata for cello and piano featuring one of the competition's admirable guest collaborators, cellist Johannes Moser. To top it off, the double-CD set includes his performance of the mighty Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 with Roberto Minczuk leading the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. It's a spirited, elegant recording and a great way to get to know a brilliant young pianist with every possible reason to succeed.
ListenListen to Kolesnikov perform Beethoven's Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor "Quasi una fantasia," Op. 27, No. 2 (The Moonlight Sonata).
Related:
Honens International Piano Competition 2012: The Honens Honours