Elena Langer
£5 TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR UNDER 35s
Katya Apekisheva © Sim Canetty-Clarke
Pianist Katya Apekisheva returns to Wigmore Hall to perform a dynamic solo recital on 21 July in a programme that includes the world premiere of Figaro’s Dances, a new piece she has commissioned by Elena Langer.
Apekisheva’s recital in July brings music spanning four centuries, with performances of Mozart’s Fantasia in D minor and Piano Sonata in F, Skryabin’s Fantasie and Thomas Adès’ Mazurkas in the first half of the concert. Between performances of Chopin’s Fantasy in F minor and the selection of Mazurkas and Scherzo No. 2 in B flat minor, Apekisheva plays two mazurkas by Karol Szymanowski, and the world premiere of Elena Langer’s Figaro’s Dances.
Katya Apekisheva said: “I’m excited to return to Wigmore Hall for this solo recital, bringing a programme which explores the genre of mazurka which fascinated composers throughout generations. I’m pairing these with fantasies by Mozart, Scriabin and Chopin as well as unique music by Thomas Ades and Elena Langer. I’ve known Elena for many years and have performed a lot of her music over the years, so it’s a real treat to perform the world premiere of this new work that she has written for me.”
Elena Langer’s Figaro’s Dances takes inspiration from her 2016 opera Figaro Gets a Divorce [http://www.colinscolumn.com/halle-mark-elder-conducts-richard-strauss-elena-langer-steven-osborne-plays-igor-stravinskys-concerto-for-piano-wind-instruments-live-bbc-radio-3-broad/], written for Welsh National Opera and described as “a modern opera that exerts an immediate emotional impact” by the Daily Telegraph. In her programme note, Langer explains that “My friend Katya Apekisheva asked me to write her a short, dancey piano piece for this recital at the Wigmore Hall. Looking at the rest of the programme, it occurred to me that adapting some music from my opera Figaro Gets a Divorce would connect nicely to the Mozart sonatas she is playing in the first half of the programme.”
In addition to her successful career as a solo and chamber musician, Apekisheva is also co-Artistic Director of the London Piano Festival which she established in 2016 with pianist Charles Owen. In 2017, Apekisheva and Owen commissioned a new work for two piano by Elena Langer which they performed in October that year as part of the Festival. The London Piano Festival returns this year from 6-9 October.
Tickets and more information about the recital can be found here: https://wigmore-hall.org.uk/whats-on/katya-apekisheva-202207211930.