Music & Beyond Festival in Ottawa

A program of Brahms, Scriabin, and Schubert will be presented at the Music & Beyond summer festival in Ottawa, Canada on July 8. Performing in a solo recital, this is Mr. Ohlsson’s second time in the city this year. In February, he performed a Brahms program with the VSO. Mr. Ohlsson’s admiration for this German composer dates back to when he was just nine years old. In a recent interview, he commented, “Brahms is one of the most intellectual of composers, but also one of the most emotional and theatrical. That strange thing called maturity, which you have no access to when you are young, hasn’t really changed my opinion of the piece at all. It knocked me out — and it still does.” (Ottawa Citizen, February 21, 2017)

Scriabin caught Mr. Ohlsson’s attention as the composer was inspired by Chopin – a composer Ohlsson is closely associated with due to his exquisite interpretations of his oeuvre, and his Gold Medal win at the 1970 International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. He remains the only American pianist to be honored with that award. Schubert is also a composer Mr. Ohlsson has thoroughly explored. In this concert, he performs the Sonata in A Major, D. 959. He has made recordings featuring works written by these composers, all of which are available via Amazon for some pre-concert listening: Brahms Scriabin Schubert