Russian pianist stuns audience in capital

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Famous Russian pianist Nikolai Lugansky has brilliantly performed at State Philharmonic Hall.

Magnificent concert was organized with the support of the Culture Ministries of Azerbaijan and Russia.

At the concert,  Russian pianist and the Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra delighted the listeners with Johannes Brahms's Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68 and Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16, Azertag reported. The orchestra was conducted by People's Artist Rauf Abdullayev.

Nikolai Lugansky has won prizes at numerous piano competitions, most notably the Silver Medal at the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in 1994 (no first prize was awarded). At the same time he began to make recordings on the Melodiya (USSR) and Vanguard Classics (Netherlands) labels.

His performance at the Winners' Gala Concert of the 10th International Tchaikovsky Competition was recorded and released on the Pioneer Classics label, on both CD and video laser disc formats.

This was followed by more recordings for Japanese labels. He went on to make recordings for Warner Classics, Erato Records, PENTATONE, Onyx Classics, Deutsche Grammophon, and Naïve Records. In 2018, Lugansky signed an exclusive recording contract with Harmonia Mundi.

Russian pianist has performed together with Vadim Repin, Alexander Kniazev, Anna Netrebko, Joshua Bell, Yuri Bashmet, Vadim Rudenko, Mischa Maisky and Leonidas Kavakos, among others.

Lugansky has collaborated with word-famous conductors such as Riccardo Chailly, Christoph Eschenbach, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Valery Gergiev, Yevgeny Svetlanov, Yuri Temirkanov, Edo de Waart and others.

In addition to performing and recording, Lugansky teaches at the Moscow Conservatory.

Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra named after Uzeyir Hajibeyli was formed in 1920, being one of the first orchestras in the Soviet Union, at the request of composer Uzeyir Hajibeyli. The first master of the orchestra was an experienced conductor M. I. Chernyakhovski.

Many great works of world music such as those of G. Mahler, I. Stravinski, C. Debussy, A. Bruckner, J. Brahms and others occupy honorable place in the repertoire of the orchestra. The orchestra is an active participant of "Music of the 20th Century" organized by R. Abdullayev and Festival of M. Rostropovich, which is held annually. Since 2007, the orchestra has been participating in summer festivals In Italy.