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Sergei Babayan, piano

Presented in partnership with the piano studio of Anton Nel at the Butler School of Music and KMFA-FM

Winner of the Cleveland, Hamamatsu, and Scottish international competitions, Sergei Babayan is hailed for his emotional intensity, bold energy, and remarkable levels of color. A graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, Babayan brings a deep understanding and insight to a stylistically diverse repertoire, which includes a performance history of 54 Concertos. As a soloist, he has performed with many of the world’s major orchestras, conductors, and festivals. Le Figaro has praised his "unequaled touch, perfectly harmonious phrasing and breathtaking virtuosity."

Pre-Performance Talk with Anton Nel
Thu, Oct 5
7 pm
Butler School of Music, MRH 2.608 (Recital Studio across from Bates Recital Hall)
Open to Performance Ticket Holders

PROGRAM

Für Alina, ARVO PÄRT (b. 1935)

Ballade No.2 in B minor, S.171, FRANZ LISZT (1811-1886)

Fantasia in C minor, Op. 21 in memory of Maria Yudina, VLADIMIR RYABOV (b. 1950)
    Introduzione
    Sonata I
    Marcia Funebre
    Sonata II
    Capriccio

Preludes and Fugues from Klavierbüchlein for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, BACH (1685-1750)
    Prelude in C Major, BWV 939
    Prelude in C minor, BWV 999
    Menuet-Trio in G minor, BWV 929
    Prelude in E Major, BWV 937
    Sinfonia in E-flat major, BWV 791
    Prelude in D minor, BWV 926
    Prelude in C-sharp Major, BWV 872
    Prelude in F Major, BWV 901

intermission

Polonaise in C-sharp minor, Op.26 No.1, FREDERIC CHOPIN (1810 - 1849)
    Valse in C-sharp minor, Op.64 No.2
    Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, Op.60

Etudes-tableaux, Op.39, RACHMANINOFF (1873 - 1943)
    5. Appassionato (E-flat minor)
Moments musicaux, Op.16
    2. Allegretto (E-flat minor)
    6. Maestoso (C Major)

Technical brilliance and imaginative delight...

London TimesOnLine

The Alchemy of Discovery- Martha Argerich and Sergei Babayan from Musicist10 on YouTube.

Fun Facts:

  • Babayan won first prize in the Robert Casadesus International Piano Competition in 1989, the first year he travelled to the United States.
  • Babayan founded the Sergei Babayan International Piano Academy at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he is also an Artist-in-Residence.
  • He was the first pianist from the former USSR who was able to compete without government sponsorship after the collapse of the system.
  • He has performed 54 concertos.
  • Babayan was born in Armenia and studied at the Moscow Conservatory.
  • As a member of the faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Sergei Babayan taught the young Russian piano prodigy Daniil Trifonov, winner of both the First Prize in at the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv and the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 2011.