Gavrylyuk and Sanderling bring Russian Passion with the Sydney Symphony

He performs in the most famous concert halls around the world and this month, pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk returns to Sydney to perform in the Sydney Symphony’s Russian Passion programme at Sydney Opera House. “I am over-joyed to be reuniting with the Sydney Symphony to share the magic of music-making in my beloved Sydney,” said Gavrylyuk.

The Ukrainian born pianist lived in Sydney from 1998 to 2006, and his links with this city are profound. He has recorded Prokofiev’s five Piano Concertos with the Sydney Symphony conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy, and has given numerous recitals at the Sydney Opera House and Sydney’s City Recital Hall. He has also performed in the great concert halls around the world – the Kremlin, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam and Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, with the likes of the Russian National Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and the Israeli Chamber Orchestra.

His career took off  when he won the 1999 Vladimir Horowitz Competition, the 2000 Hamamatsu competition and the 2005 Arthur Rubinstein Competition.

Making his debut with the Sydney Symphony is Russian-born conductor Thomas Sanderling, creating a perfect team for leading the interpretation of the mostly Russian programme. Thomas Sanderling is the son of conductor Kurt Sanderling. He studied first at the Leningrad Conservatory, then at the Hochschule für Musik in East Berlin. At 24, he was appointed director of the Halle Opera and his early career, was based in East Berlin, working with orchestras in Dresden and Leipzig. He was guest conductor at the Berlin Staatskapelle, then broadening his work to both opera and orchestral companies in Western Europe and the US, including the Vienna State Opera and the Deutsch Oper in Berlin.

Included In the programme is Rachmanninov’s much loved second piano concerto.“This concerto transcends the limits and borders of the musical expression. I feel that the core of this music is its spiritual strength, inner suffering and most importantly a victorious glory of the absolute truth and love expressed in the most heartfelt sincerity,” says Gavrylyuk. Peter Sculthorpe’s Sun Song, was especially selected by Sanderling for its extrovert sounds, flowing melodies and entrancing rhythms. “I felt it balanced the Russian works beautifully and look forward to some very fine music-making within the wonderful programme we have,” he said.

There will be a pre-concert talk by Scott Davie at 5.45pm in the Northern Foyer (Meet the Music concerts only).

Programme:

LIADOV Kikimora

RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No.2

SCULTHORPE Sun Song (1984)

TCHAIKOVSKY Francesca da Rimini