Sunday 29 March

“Marshev’s vibrant, fluent and tastefully inflected pianism fuses power and poetry at every juncture” – Classics Today

Because of Covid-19 travel restrictions, our performer, Oleg Marshev, was unable to come to New Zealand. The Committee considered carefully whether to provide a substitute artist, but given the fast-moving developments in New Zealand, including the first case appearing in Wellington, we have decided that a public gathering of our members at this time is too great a risk. Refunds were provided for tickets already purchased, including season ticket holders.

Born in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, he studied at the Moscow Conservatory, graduating in 1988 and winning the Pilar Bayona International Piano Competition in Zaragoza. In 1990 he took the Gold Medal at the AMSA World Piano Competition of Cincinnati. Many other illustrious competition successes followed, including four first prizes, confirming his reputation as one of the most talented Russian pianists of his generation. In 1991, Oleg made his New York debut at the Lincoln Center, and he has performed regularly around the world since then.

Resident in Italy, he gives masterclasses in many different countries and is a Professor at the Anton Bruckner University in Austria. He is a prolific recording artist with more than 45 CDs to his name, all received with widespread critical acclaim by leading international publications.

His fascinating programme called “Dialogue: Chopin and Scriabin” will offer a comparison between these two composers’ approach to similar musical forms. Like Chopin (although fifty years later) Scriabin was primarily a piano composer. His earliest pieces resemble Chopin’s and include genres that Chopin himself employed, such as the waltz, the polonaise, the nocturne and the mazurka.