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With pianist Anna Gourari

Anna Gourari is one of the most outstanding pianists of her generation. Listen to a “veritable firework of cascades of sound” that she creates in the extraordinary setting of Antje Tesche-Menzen’s artist studio.

In pieces by Frédéric Chopin and Alexander Scriabin, she melts into her instrument and sinks into her art.

In addition, students of the Gourari Academy will play works by Frédéric Chopin and Robert Schumann.

VENUE

Harbour village, artist studio of Antje Tesche-Mentzen

PLAYING TIME

approx. 2 hours

BIOGRAPHY

Anna Gourari was born in Kazan, Russia. She completed her training in her hometown and in Moscow before continuing her studies at the Musikhochschule in Munich after moving to Germany.

In her piano playing the artist combines influences of two eminent European piano schools. Her playing was “technically brilliant,” almost “perfectly blending fiery attack and poetic magic,” according to the trade press. The American magazine “Fanfare” writes: “With Anna Gourari the great Russian piano school lives on”.

Anna Gourari received her first prizes and awards at an early age. Her international breakthrough came when Martha Argerich, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Alexis Weissenberg, Nelson Freire and Joachim Kaiser awarded her first prize at the 1st Int. Clara Schumann Piano Competition in Düsseldorf. The judges praised her “almost mystical piano playing.” The press and the public were full of superlatives.

Since then Anna Gourari has gained an excellent reputation as a soloist and chamber musician in the most important music centers worldwide. Her Carnegie Hall debut was followed by an immediate re-invitation. She gives guest performances at international festivals and has performed with renowned orchestras and conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Iván Fischer, Zubin Mehta, Roger Norrington, Marco Armiliato, Kirill Petrenko, Sir Colin Davis, etc. Her wide-ranging repertoire includes classical piano literature as well as compositions of classical modern and contemporary music. Composers such as Rodion Shchedrin, Jörg Widmann and others have dedicated works to Anna Gourari.

In addition to her concert activities, the artist can point to an extensive discography. For her recordings, some of which stayed in the German classical music charts for weeks, she received several awards, including the “ECHO Klassik”, the “Diapason d’Or”, etc. With the Grammy-nominated album “Canto Oscuro”, Anna Gourari’s collaboration with the world-renowned label ECM began, followed by her album “Visions fugitives”, which features works by Medtner, Chopin and Prokofiev. Her latest ECM recording features works by Alfred Schnittke, Arvo Pärt, J.S. Bach, Wolfgang Rihm, Giya Kancheli and Rodion Shchedrin.

Her next album of works for piano and orchestra by Paul Hindemith and Alfred Schnittke has been recorded and will be released on ECM in early 2023.
At the beginning of 2019, Anna Gourari launched the MUSICAÈ concert series in Munich and, as artistic director, has already been able to invite internationally renowned musicians and artists such as Gidon Kremer, Sir András Schiff, Heinz Holliger, Robert Levin, Dmitry Sinkovsky, Kremerata Baltica, Alexei Volodin, Pierre-Laurent Aimard and many more.

You can find more information HERE!

PRESSTIMES

South German Newspaper
Slavic narrative gift, with virtuoso polish and flawless sound culture

New York Times
Anna Gourari plays Prokofiev with plenty of bite as well as pianistic flair… a spacious, poetic account of Chopin’s Third Piano Sonata

Audio
Anna Gourari “sings out” the lines, listens to them, thus striking the nerve of the music. Wonderful!

Fono Forum
Gourari interprets Prokofiev and Chopin highly orginally on the basis of exceptionally good pianism

Harold C. Schonberg
She plays freely, but never eccentrically. Just a little bit… she is extraordinary

PianoNews
Touchingly simple as fascinating