Nikolai Lugansky

This event will be livestreamed on the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra YouTube channel  

Beethoven Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31 No. 2, ‘Tempest’
Beethoven Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57, ‘Appassionata’
Medtner Selection from Vergessene Weisen, Op. 38
Rachmaninov Selection from Études-Tableaux

Inducted by his teacher Tatiana Nikolaeva into the grand lineage of Russian pianism, Nikolai Lugansky has been described by Gramophone magazine as ‘inextricably associated with the music of Rachmaninov’ – in a review that celebrated his ‘complete emotional attunement’ and ‘technique in spades’. So it is no surprise that Rachmaninov features on this programme with Études-Tableaux: pieces that respond to visual imagery, though the images are not disclosed. They play alongside music by the composer’s Russian contemporary (and fellow-exile) Medtner. And for good measure there are also two of Beethoven’s best-loved sonatas:
Op. 31 No. 2, known (for no very good reason
after Shakespeare) as the ‘Tempest’, and the more literally tempestuous Op. 57, known for better reasons as the ‘Appassionata’.