Child prodigy who came to international attention with his first Muscovite recordings at the age of 12 (the Chopin Concertos), Evgeny Kissin has continued to enflame crowds ever since, from Europe to Japan by way of the United States. Chopin, his god, as well as the totality of the repertoire, without overlooking his compatriots Mussorgsky, Medtner, Rachmaninov and Scriabin, hold no secrets for him. An inspired interpreter of Romantic works, he is the most attentive, most respectful of all, his playing totally natural—the opposite of the acrobatics and forced pauses of so many pianists of his generation… Once again, in Montpellier, this Apollonian musician will magnify the versatile, exuberant lyricism of his favourites: Schubert (Sonata No. 22), Beethoven (32 Variations, WoO 80), Brahms (Klavierstücke, Op. 118) and Chopin, of course (!), with the magnificent Andante spianato et grande polonaise.

Franck Mallet