BMF 2014, Piano recital – Matej Arendárik

Ilja Zeljenka – a playful philosopher – often inclined to the motoric movement of old piano toccata. Repetitiveness, acceleration, explosiveness – all were favoured by Zeljenka both in their pure appearance, and as part of more complicated musical structures. Karol Szymanowski belonged more to mystic musicians; however, his collection of piano etudes reveals him as a pragmatist and expert on piano technique. Sergey Prokofiev was also a pragmatist; being a piano virtuoso himself he wrote sonatas for his own presentation. All are extremely exacting, but written in a purely pianistic style. Musorgsky's original suite Pictures from an Exhibition abounds in colours and moods. It also attracted Ravel, who orchestrated it brilliantly. The recital will feature one of the most distinctive performers of the young generation in the Central Europe, Matej Arendárik, an artist of outstanding creativity.