Salon Concert with Georg Kjurdian (piano) - playing J.S. Bach, Brahms, Beethoven and Blumenfeld

Georg Kjurdian, born in Latvia in 1994, has never been a pianist-only musician: he started guitar at four and began composing at eight. He came to the piano at ten and has since called it his greatest passion and creative laboratory.

After moving to Germany at 18, he credits Hisako Kawamura, Henri Sigfridsson, Arnulf von Arnim, Matti Raekallio, Andreas Reiner and Evgeni Sinaiski as the figures who shaped his playing and musical outlook most profoundly. A prize-winner at international competitions - including the 14th Bach Competition in Leipzig - and an active soloist and chamber musician, Kjurdian is drawn to unconventional programming and new concert formats that keep classical music relevant for today's audiences. In September 2024 he began a three-year programme at the TONALi-Bühnenakademie in Hamburg, where 12 selected young musicians work alongside mentors from various artistic fields to explore new approaches to music communication.

His debut CD appeared on the Challenge Records label in early 2023, featuring works by the "three great Bs" (Bach, Beethoven and Brahms). A second CD on the same label is due in 2026, this time devoted to original works and arrangements by Richard Wagner.

Programme:

The "four great Bs"

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
English Suite No. 6 in D minor, BWV 811
- Prélude
- Allemande
- Courante
- Sarabande
- Gavotte I - Gavotte II - Gavotte I
- Gigue

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
4 Intermezzi
- op. 116 No. 4 in E major
- op. 116 No. 2 in A minor
- op. 116 No. 5 in E minor
- op. 118 No. 2 in A major

Interval

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano Sonata op. 2 No. 2 in A major
- Allegro vivace
- Largo appassionato
- Scherzo
- Rondo - Grazioso

Felix Blumenfeld (1863-1931)
Nocturne-Fantaisie op. 20