Petr Limonov

Lancaster Arts are thrilled to welcome pianist Petr Limonov back after his outstanding debut Lancaster concert last spring.

Gibbons – 'Lord Salisbury' Pavan
Mozart – Sonata in C major, KV 330
Beethoven – Sonata in C major, op. 53
Liszt – 'Nuages Gris'
Chopin – 3 Mazurkas, op. 63
Schubert – 4 Impromptus, op. 90

This programme explores the creative output of composers faced with the realisation of the finite nature of life, as well as the process of ageing and transformation in what at first glance could be considered ageless, musical forms.

Despite being composed nearly 400 years ago, Gibbons’s 'Pavan' sounds as if it could have been written yesterday: its fresh, bold harmonic language and artistic honesty are reminding us that ageing is the necessary step towards becoming truly ageless.

Mozart’s sonata in C major, followed by Beethoven’s monumental 'Waldstein' sonata, written in the same key, take the listener through the evolution of the sonata form, which, in the minds of composers of the classical era, was ideally suited for representing the underlying optimism of the Age of Enlightenment.  The very first of Schubert’s Four Impromptus was written in C minor in sonata form and published in 1827, one year before composer’s demise, and represents a decisive turn towards intense introspection and a growing sense of existential loneliness.

Liszt wrote his haunting, introverted, yet revolutionary 'Nuages Gris' just a few years before his death, in 1881, after he suffered a serious injury and was confined to bedrest for a few months.  Chopin’s Three Mazurkas were amongst the very last pieces he wrote before he stopped composing altogether, realising that his battle with tuberculosis was coming to a bitter end.

Russian-British pianist and conductor Petr Limonov is the BBC 2019 'Newcomer of the Year' and winner of the Nikolai Rubinstein Piano Competition.  Petr frequently performs across Europe and the UK, having collaborated with, among others, Maria João Pires, Nicola Benedetti, and Laura van der Heijden.  His cadenza for Beethoven’s Violin Concerto was written in collaboration with Nicola Benedetti and is currently on display in the British Library.  In 2017, Petr’s arrangement of the Auld Lang Syne was performed in the Albert Hall at the BBC Proms.  In March 2022, Petr conducted a concert in Trafalgar Square, in protest against the Russian invasion in Ukraine.