Greek Theatre, 9.30pm
Ivo Pogorelich plays Tchaikovsky
The croatian pianist is famous for his expressive way of playing the piano.
He was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, now Serbia, to a Croatian father and a Serbian mother.(Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, Pogorelić became a Croatian citizen. He received his first piano lessons when he was seven and attended the “Vojislav Vučković Music School” in Belgrade until he was 12, when he was invited to Moscow to continue his studies. Later he graduated from the Moscow Conservatory. In 1976 he began studying intensively with the Georgian pianist and teacher Aliza Kezeradze, who passed on to him the tradition of the Liszt–Siloti school. They were married from 1980 until her death in 1996.
He became famous for the prize he didn’t win. In 1980 he entered the International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw and was eliminated in the third round. One of the adjudicators, Martha Argerich, proclaimed him a “genius” and resigned from the jury in protest.
Pogorelich’s performances have often been controversial. His interpretations were well received by a large number of concert audiences, but not by some critics, who criticized him as a “musician of distortion and exaggeration”.
Following the death of his wife in 1996, Pogorelić stopped performing for several years, devoting himself to jewellery design. In the early 2000s he returned to the concert stage. Pogorelić currently resides in Lugano, Switzerland.
In Taormina he will perform Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Concert for Piano and Orchestra n. 1, op. 23
Capriccio italiano op. 45
E. Onegin
Polacca – Valzer
Mediterranea Chamber Orchestra – Director Joachim Jousse
Tickets available on ticketone.it and ctbox.it
Parterre and Stands: € 28,00
Non-numbered tiers: € 18,00
