Alexander Gadjiev: First Prize Winner National Tour 2022

Alexander Gadjiev: First Prize Winner National Tour 2022

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Posted 2022-10-30 by Sydneyfunmumfollow

Thu 27 Oct 2022



This was a magical night and a spellbinding performance by Alexander Gadjiev, clearly a crowd favourite from last year's Sydney International Piano Competition (2021), where he scooped up almost half of the prizes. "See?" said someone to their neighbour in the row behind me when the interval started, referring to the extraordinary performance we had just witnessed."That is why I said he should win last year." Spoken whilst beaming with pride at uncontestably being proven right.

The concert had an unusual start where the audience is invited to reconnect with themselves to better appreciate the music, and meditate for two minutes in complete darkness. I am not sure whether this was done at Alexander Gadjiev's request, or whether it was related to the first piece he was performing (Gadjiev played part of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Colin Spiers as his first piece, the premiere of the winning composition in the Sydney International Piano Competition's "Composing the Future" competition first held in 2021 - whatever the reason, it was a first for me to see the lights dim to complete darkness at the start of a recital with an invitation to meditate, but a refreshing opportunity to reset, to pause, and get into the right mindset to enjoy a dazzling night of piano music.

My friend and I, both had the same reaction at the interval, firstly: wow. We had just heard the performance of what sounded like a fiendishly difficult never-before performed a piece by Colin Spiers, followed by two well-known Chopin standards: Chopin's Prelude in C# minor Op.45, and Chopin's Polonaise fantasie in Ab major Opus 61.

Secondly: I know that piece but I've never heard it played like that.We were both referring to his rendition of Chopin's Polonaise Fantasie in Ab major. While neither of us were experts by any means on the piece, we had both heard it enough times to be comfortable that we knew it reasonably well.

It's quite an extraordinary feat to be able to bring fresh new insights to a known piece of music just by emphasizing slightly different harmonies in the piece and a judicious use of rubato in the right places, but Alexander Gadjiev did exactly that.

At times the grandeur of the pieces came forth with resounding passion, echoing around Verbruggen Hall in all Chopin's haunting pathos and majesty, but the parts which stood out for me were the hauntingly quiet melodies that teetered like gentle queries almost too painful to be asked - pausing tantalisingly at exactly the right moment, resulting in shivers being sent down your spine.

It was hard for me not to compare Alexander Gadjiev to Harry Potter, most probably because he was sporting some fine round rimmed spectacles a la Harry Potter on the night, but also because he has an air of quiet un-self-conscious competence that radiates off him, and when he plays, the spell he weaves with his music is deeply powerful, quite beyond what one expects in someone so young and unprepossessing.

After the interval, we were treated to his rendition of Schumann's Fantasie Op. 17, often described as Schumann's greatest piano composition, a grand work that traverses a first movement bursting with rhapsodic passion, moves into a more measured but still exhilarating second movement, ending with a third movement that is slow and contemplative.

We were mesmerised watching Gadjiev's fingers race across the keys to effortlessly encompass the profoundly challenging piece that this work is, but encompass it, he did.

The only sign of the level of concentration it takes to perform at this level was the slight movement of his lips as if muttering incantations under his breath in the most challenging sections of his performance. Otherwise, his whole body looked very calm and composed, at ease with the sheer immensity of the works he was undertaking.

As a massive fan of Chopin, the concert was an indulgent treat for me. Not only were there two very challenging Chopin masterpieces on display in this concert, but extra Chopin snippets in the encores.

We were treated to three encores afterwards, which I was deeply appreciative for, as I honestly was not expecting him to do so given how far through this gruelling tour he is, and the level of difficulty of the pieces he was playing that night for us.

I do not know how a person learns to weave such powerful magic with music at such a young age, but one thing I am certain of - watch out for Alexander Gadjiev in the future, because if this concert was anything to judge by, his prowess will only grow - and it is already extraordinary.

#city
#music
#concerts
#classical_music
#october
!date 27/10/2022 -- 27/10/2022
%wnsydney
108251 - 2023-06-12 13:37:34

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