DENIS KOZHUKHIN

From Handel’s traditional suite of dances to Boulez’s monumental sonata, Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin’s solo recital spans four epochs of music history—and a multitude of moods and styles. Brahms referred to his three Intermezzi, written in 1892 and among his last works for piano, as "lullabies of my sorrow." In sharp contrast to their emotional intensity, the five short pieces of Bartók’s 1926 Out of Doors draw on folk music, dance rhythms, and nature sounds. Boulez’s Second Piano Sonata, its formal structure in four movements modeled on Beethoven, displays the full range of the 23-year-old composer’s creative force at the beginning of his career. Premiered in 1950 in Paris, the sonata was instrumental in establishing Boulez’s international reputation.