Brecht Valckenaers

In this solo recital, Festival artist in residence Brecht Valcke­naers will take several of Shostakovich’s preludes and fugues, letting them clash with piano music by Ustvolskaya. Shostakovich was primarily inspired by Bach’s lyricism and intricate counterpoint, while Ustvolskaya treats the piano mainly as a percussion instrument. She shows no mercy in making the pianist hammer away, like a prisoner pounding the cell wall. Brecht showed himself to be an extremely refined pianist at his festival debut last year. The clarity of his playing and his immense talent for sound colour are iron-clad guarantees that this recital will be a similarly intense experience.

Co-production 30CC