'Chopin Competition Runner-Up' Gadjiev to Hold Recital Featuring Beethoven, Debussy, Liszt and More

September 30 at IBK Chamber Hall, Seoul Arts Center

Pianist Alexander Gadjiev, who won second place at the 18th International Chopin Piano Competition in 2021, will hold a solo recital at the IBK Chamber Hall in Seoul Arts Center on September 30.

This is the final stage of the “2026 Seoul Arts Center World Star Series - Piano Special,” a program designed by the Seoul Arts Center to highlight the diverse charm and possibilities of the piano. Previously, Eva Gevorgyan performed in May, and John O’Conor took to the stage in June.

Gadjiev, who will conclude the series, is a pianist who received international attention by winning second prize at the 2021 Chopin Competition and also received the Krystian Zimerman Special Prize for his interpretation of Chopin’s Sonata. In this concert, he will present a wide range of piano music from the Classical and Romantic periods to the music of the 20th century, through a program featuring works by Beethoven, Takemitsu, Debussy, Liszt, and Schumann.

Growing up in Gorizia, a border city between Italy and Slovenia, Gadjiev developed a broad musical sensibility in a multicultural and multilingual environment. At the age of 20, he won both first prize and the Audience Prize at the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition. In 2021, he secured first place at the Sydney International Piano Competition and won second place at the International Chopin Piano Competition in the same year.

Between 2019 and 2021, he was selected as a BBC New Generation Artist and performed at major venues in the UK, including London’s Wigmore Hall. He has since expanded his career to Europe, Asia, the United States, and Australia. He performed with Zubin Mehta and the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and made his debut at the Vienna Musikverein with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra. He continues to be invited to prestigious festivals and venues worldwide, including the Verbier Festival, Salzburg Festival, and La Roque d’Anthéron International Piano Festival.

This recital will open with Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 21, ‘Waldstein,’ considered one of Beethoven’s most renowned middle-period sonatas. It will be followed by Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu’s “Rain Tree Sketch II,” which explores delicate sonorities, and Debussy’s “Isle of Joy,” celebrated for its colorful language.

The second half will begin with “The Bells of Geneva” and “The Storm” from “Years of Pilgrimage, First Year: Switzerland” by Liszt. By presenting “The Bells of Geneva,” which conveys tranquility, alongside the dynamic “The Storm,” the program juxtaposes contrasting moods within the same composer’s work.

The program will conclude with Schumann’s Piano Sonata No. 1, a representative work from Schumann’s early piano repertoire that blends lyrical melodies and passionate development.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.