Chopin Piano Recital
Vassily Primakov, piano
Sunday, May 25th, 2025, 5:00pm
at
Poquatuck Hall
1160 Village Lane, Orient, NY 11957
Music Program
Felix B. Mendelssohn Fantasie in F sharp Minor Opus 28
Frederick Chopin Nocturne in E Minor Opus 72 No.1
Frederick Chopin Sonata No. 2 in B Flat Minor Opus 35
- Grave – Doppio movimento
- Scherzo
- Marche funèbre: Lento
- Finale: Presto
Intermission
Johannes Brahms two Rhapsodies Opus 79
Franz Schubert Wanderer Fantasy in C Major Opus 15
- Allegro con fuoco ma non troppo
- Adagio
- Presto
- Allegro
Vassily Primakov, piano
In recent years, Vassily Primakov has been hailed as a pianist of world class importance. Gramophone wrote that “Primakov’s empathy with Chopin’s spirit could hardly be more complete,” and the American Record Guide stated: “Since Gilels, how many pianists have the right touch? In Chopin, no one currently playing sounds as good as this! This is a great Chopin pianist.” Vassily entered Moscow’s Central Special Music School at the age of 11, and at 17 came to New York to pursue studies at the Juilliard School. At Juilliard he won the William Petschek Piano Recital Award, which led to his debut recital at Alice Tully Hall. He also won both the Silver Medal and the Audience Prize in the 2002 Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition, and later that year he won First Prize in the 2002 Young Concert Artists (YCA) International Auditions. In 2007 he was named the Classical Recording Foundation’s “Young Artist of the Year.” In 2009, his Chopin Mazurkas recording was named “Best of the Year” by National Public Radio. Vassily has released numerous recordings for Bridge Records that include works by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Chopin, Dvorak, Debussy, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, among others. In 2011, he and his duo-piano partner, Natalia Lavrova, established a new record company, L.P. Classics, Inc. which has released a number of additional recordings. In the fall of 2021, Vassily collaborated with two other pianists, Natalia Lavrova and Oxana Mikhailoff, to perform a “piano extravaganza” of two piano works based on transcriptions from opera and ballet, at the Sparkill Concert Series in Sparkill, NY. This performance is also available on a CD. In addition to Vassily’s full teaching schedule and his performance career, he is, in partnership with Oxana Mikhailoff, co-director of the Sparkill Concert Series in Sparkill, NY. Vassily is a Yamaha Artist.
Reviews:
“This is a great Chopin pianist. Primakov’s timing is perfect: he knows exactly how long to hold a note before going on to the next. His exquisite hesitations are almost sexual.” - American Record Guide
“One of the great Chopin recordings of recent times. Primakov’s interpretations of the two Chopin piano concertos combine grace and fire in the service of unflagging intensity. These are performances of extraordinary power and beauty.” - MusicWeb International
“Primakov’s empathy with Chopin’s spirit could hardly be more complete...He is beautifully partnered, too, by Paul Mann and the Odense Symphony Orchestra who are entirely at one with their free and romantic soloist.” - Gramophone
In recent years, Vassily Primakov has been hailed as a pianist of world class importance. Gramophone wrote that “Primakov’s empathy with Chopin’s spirit could hardly be more complete,” and the American Record Guide stated: “Since Gilels, how many pianists have the right touch? In Chopin, no one currently playing sounds as good as this! This is a great Chopin pianist.” Vassily entered Moscow’s Central Special Music School at the age of 11, and at 17 came to New York to pursue studies at the Juilliard School. At Juilliard he won the William Petschek Piano Recital Award, which led to his debut recital at Alice Tully Hall. He also won both the Silver Medal and the Audience Prize in the 2002 Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition, and later that year he won First Prize in the 2002 Young Concert Artists (YCA) International Auditions. In 2007 he was named the Classical Recording Foundation’s “Young Artist of the Year.” In 2009, his Chopin Mazurkas recording was named “Best of the Year” by National Public Radio. Vassily has released numerous recordings for Bridge Records that include works by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Chopin, Dvorak, Debussy, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, among others. In 2011, he and his duo-piano partner, Natalia Lavrova, established a new record company, L.P. Classics, Inc. which has released a number of additional recordings. In the fall of 2021, Vassily collaborated with two other pianists, Natalia Lavrova and Oxana Mikhailoff, to perform a “piano extravaganza” of two piano works based on transcriptions from opera and ballet, at the Sparkill Concert Series in Sparkill, NY. This performance is also available on a CD. In addition to Vassily’s full teaching schedule and his performance career, he is, in partnership with Oxana Mikhailoff, co-director of the Sparkill Concert Series in Sparkill, NY. Vassily is a Yamaha Artist.
Reviews:
“This is a great Chopin pianist. Primakov’s timing is perfect: he knows exactly how long to hold a note before going on to the next. His exquisite hesitations are almost sexual.” - American Record Guide
“One of the great Chopin recordings of recent times. Primakov’s interpretations of the two Chopin piano concertos combine grace and fire in the service of unflagging intensity. These are performances of extraordinary power and beauty.” - MusicWeb International
“Primakov’s empathy with Chopin’s spirit could hardly be more complete...He is beautifully partnered, too, by Paul Mann and the Odense Symphony Orchestra who are entirely at one with their free and romantic soloist.” - Gramophone
