Rachmaninoff Festival: Piano No. 3

Rachmaninoff Festival: Piano No. 3
Our two-weekend festival recognizing the 150th anniversary of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s birth is anchored by the return of young phenom, Alexander Malofeev performing the stamina-challenging, imposing Third Piano Concerto in a program that includes the composer’s hypnotic Vocalise and the haunting tone poem, Isle of the Dead.

The Coffee Concert Series is presented by Highmark

Program
JoAnn Falletta, conductor
Alexander Malofeev, piano

RACHMANINOFF Vocalise
RACHMANINOFF Isle of the Dead
RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3

About Alexander Malofeev
The young “Russian genius” (Corriere della Sera) came to international prominence when, in 2014, he won the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians at age thirteen. “Contrary to what could be expected of a youngster…he demonstrated not only high technical accuracy but also an incredible maturity. Crystal clear sounds and perfect balance revealed his exceptional ability” (Amadeus). Malofeev has quickly established himself as one of the most prominent pianists of his generation. His performances have garnered high praise from critics, with publications such as Der Standard declaring his debut at the Musikverein as a “world piano revolution.”

For the 2023-2024 season, highlights include Malofeev’s return to the Bournemouth Symphony for a multi-concert residency, a solo tour in China, and a European tour with Filarmonica della Scala and Riccardo Chailly, as well as performances at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Munich Isarphilharmonie, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, and Carnegie Hall in New York. He continues to perform with the best orchestras: the National Symphony Orchestra, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra under Kent Nagano, and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande under Marin Alsop, among many others.

Maestro Riccardo Chailly said about the pianist: “I first heard Malofeev when Valery Gergiev performed with him at the Teatro alla Scala…He was only 14, and he amazed me with his talent. Because that is not just a child prodigy – he is very young, but already possesses depth and technical abilities, and also musical and mnemonic, which makes him an excellent interpreter of the third concerto of Rachmaninoff, which is a problem for many pianists in the world.” (Corriere della Sera).

Alexander was born in Moscow in October 2001. Now residing in Berlin, he continues to give concerts in Concertgebouw (Amsterdam) – where he opened the 30th anniversary concert of the renowned Meester Pianists series – Teatro alla Scala (Milan), Musikverein Wien, Kurhaus Wiesbaden (Germany), Alte Oper Frankfurt (Germany), Munich Herkulessaal (Germany), Tanglewood (USA), Philharmonie de Paris, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Theater of the Champs-Élysées (France), Auditorium Parco della Musica in Roma and Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari (Italy), Queensland Performing Arts Centre (Australia), Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, Bunka Kaikan Theatre in Tokyo, Seoul Art Center, Shanghai Oriental Art Center, National Centre for the Performing Arts (Beijing), and the Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman.

Over the years, he has performed with renowned orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, RAI National Symphony Orchestra, Korean Symphony Orchestra, Verbier Festival Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, and many others.

Alexander Malofeev regularly appears with the most distinguished conductors onstage today, including Riccardo Chailly, Mikhail Pletnev, Myung-Whun Chung, Charles Dutoit, Michael Tilson Thomas, JoAnn Falletta, Alain Altinoglu, Susanna Mälkki, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Lionel Bringuier, Alondra de la Parra, Kazuki Yamada, Vasily Petrenko, Juraj Valcuha, Kirill Karabits, Andris Poga, Fabio Luisi, and others.

Malofeev was a guest of world-famous music festivals and series such as Verbier Festival, International de Piano de La Roque d’Anthéron Festival, Rheingau Music Festival (Germany), Tanglewood Music Festival and Aspen Music Festival (USA), Tsinandali Festival (Georgia), Master Pianist Series (Amsterdam), and the Celebrity Series of Boston.

In addition to his first prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians, he has won numerous awards and prizes at international competitions and festivals, including the Grand Prix of the International Competition for Young Pianists Grand Piano Competition, and the Premio Giovane Talento Musicale dell’anno 2017 (Best Young Musician of 2017). Also in 2017, Alexander became the first Young Yamaha Artist.