PRINCETON UNIVERSITY CONCERTS PRESENTS BEHZOD ABDURAIMOV, PIANO ON NOVEMBER 21, 2013

Thursday, November 21, 2013 at 8:00 pm

Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall

BEHZOD ABDURAIMOV, Piano 

Beethoven Sonata Op. 26 in A-flat Major

Beethoven Sonata Op. 10, No. 2 in F Major

Saint-SaËns/Liszt/Horowitz Danse Macabre

Schubert Impromptus Op. 90 Nos. 2 and 3

Ravel Gaspard de la Nuit

“Behzod Abdu-who?” quipped National Public Radio last year. “Not for long.”  As rewarding as it is to bring you the world’s most renowned musicians, there’s special joy in introducing a little-known young artist poised to join the ranks of the all-time greats.  Behzod Abduraimov, a 23-year-old native of Uzbekistan, is such a talent.  “Rip-roaringly exciting” and “a gift from God” are among the breathless reviews he’s elicited, as well as this from the International Record Review: “He has the neuro-motor responses of a jungle cat and the energy reserves of an Olympic athlete on peak form.” After achieving a sensational victory in the 2009 London International Piano Competition, winning first prize with a thrilling performance of Prokofiev’s Third, the young phenom toured with the Sydney Symphony under Vladimir Ashkenazy, a great pianist in his own right.  Abduraimov’s electrifying version of Saint-Saens’s Dance Macabre is that of an artist possessed – and sporting a rather sly grin.