Vasily Petrenko, Conductor
Khatia Buniatishvili, Piano
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Programme:
William Walton
Overture “Johannesburg Festival”
Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky
Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor for piano and orchestra, op. 23
Sergei Rachmaninoff
“Symphonic Dances”, op. 45

Essener Philharmoniker Programme Note:
She is virtuoso, she is passionate: the young Georgian star pianist Khatia Buniatishvili dares the burning pianistic ecstasy, plays at full risk in order to indulge in the boundless intoxication of the music. “I like what the adrenaline does to me on stage. It’s like a magical moment, like when you’re hypnotized and can no longer lie.” Emotionality plays a major role for the pianist, because Buniatishvili permeates works and composers with their individuality and shows their diversity. Khatia Buniatishvili has a very personal relationship with Peter Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto. It was the first piano concerto that she performed in public at the age of 18: “I remember exactly how the warm string sound enveloped me for the first time,