Kevin Stanley reviews Petr Limonov at the Royal Concert Hall...
Limonov is an award-winning British pianist and conductor. His most notable performances include TV appearances for BBC Proms Extra, Podium Witteman and broadcasts for BBC Radio 3. He has performed in the Albert Hall at the BBC Proms and in 2022 he conducted an open-air concert in Trafalgar Square, London, in protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Born in Moscow, Petr has been honing his craft since the tender age of five, which is no doubt fairly old for a piano prodigy. Yet at just six he entered the prestigious Moscow Central Music School, where he studied under the guidance of Siavush Gadjiev, Valery Piasetsky and, later, Andrei Pisarev. Countless awards and accolades soon followed before he went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London followed by a year at Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot.
His programme today is made up of Ravel’s Valses Nobles et Sentimentales and Chopin’s 24 Preludes, Opus 28.
There are moments of extreme intensity
Limonov’s immaculate playing is passionate and powerful. The sound of his piano is rich and vibrant. The music is captivating and beautiful. There are moments of extreme intensity, as well as periods where the music is lighter and more playful. He uses every key as he plays runs from one end the piano to the other. It appears to all be played entirely from memory, there is no sight of any sheet music or any other aid memoir. To be able to retain so much musical information, to learn every note, to commit it entirely to memory, it's an astonishing feat. It’s a delightful programme of music.
These are masterpieces of music, beautifully composed. It takes someone with the skill and mature musically abilities such as Limonov to perform these pieces to their full extent, yet he does this, seemingly effortlessly. He's a warm and friendly presence when introducing himself and when leaving the stage, before returning to his instrument for a brief and well received encore.
It’s a performance to savour from a uniquely talented pianist in the company of which I would be delighted to spend any Sunday morning.
As part of the Sunday Piano Series, Petr Limonov played at the Nottingham Royal Concert Hall on Sunday 12 February
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