Antonii Baryshevskyi piano
in collaboration with Fondazione Amici della Fenice nell’ambito del VeneziaPianoFestival
Music by Chopin, Debussy, Ligeti, Lunyov, Shalygin, Listz

programma
Frédéric Chopin
Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23 
Lento - Moderato - Più mosso / agitato - Meno mosso - Presto con fuoco
Ballade No. 2 in F major, Op. 38
Andantino
Ballade No. 3 in A-flat major, Op. 47 
Allegretto
Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52 
Andante con moto
Claude Debussy
Étude nr. 1 ‘Pour les cinq doigts (d'après Monsieur Czerny)’
Étude nr. 11 ‘Pour les arpèges composés
György Ligeti
Étude nr 5 Arc-en-ciel - Etude nr 8 Fem
Svyatoslav Lunyov
Adieu from Études
Maxim Shalygin
Angel from Études
Franz Liszt
Étude de Concert nr. 1 ‘Waldesrauschen’ - Chasse-neige
from Études d'exécution transcendante
Frédéric Chopin
Étude op. 10 nr. 3 in E
Étude op. 10 nr. 12 in C

This year also marks the resumption of the collaboration with the Fondazione Amici della Fenice as part of the VeneziaPianoFestival, which presents both the winners of the latest editions of the Premio Venezia and pianists who emerged from the "Ferruccio Busoni" International Piano Competition in Bolzano. Ukrainian pianist Antonii Baryshevskyi is among them. A laureate of some of the most prestigious international piano competitions, including the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition, the "Premio Jaén," and the aforementioned Busoni Competition, his career has seen him perform in some of the most prestigious international concert halls and with several of the main European orchestras. At the festival, he will propose a fascinating journey through piano literature between the nineteenth century and the present day, focusing on the form of the étude as a space for technical and expressive research. Although originally conceived as simple technical exercises, Antonii Baryshevskyi reveals here the breathtaking beauty of the studies. Chopin, Liszt, and Debussy reinvented them as virtuosic concert pieces, and Baryshevskyi combines them with contemporary compositions by Ukrainian authors Svyatoslav Lunyov and Maxim Shalygin. With the latter in particular, Baryshevskyi cultivates a close creative bond that has strengthened following the tragic events in their homeland, initiating a new phase of mutual growth that culminated in the creation of new studies highlighting Shalygin's innovative approach to the solo piano repertoire. The two artists thus inspire each other, and the pianist has become an ambassador for Ukrainian music on the world stage. The four Ballades by Chopin that open the concert represent one of the highest peaks of musical Romanticism. With this cycle, Chopin "invents" a new genre and transforms the instrument into a narrative voice capable of evoking legendary worlds, heroism, and profound melancholy. With Claude Debussy and György Ligeti, the study is transformed into a timbral and rhythmic exploration, moving between irony, color, and sonic complexity, while the pages by Svyatoslav Lunyov and Maxim Shalygin offer a contemporary, intimate, and suggestive gaze. With Franz Liszt, visionary virtuosity returns, rich in natural imagery and transcendental passion. The program closes with two famous Études by Chopin, in which technique and poetry find a perfect synthesis.

Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 1988, Antonii Baryshevskyi began playing the piano at the age of six. At just 16, he received the "A Man of the Year 2005" award in his home country. He has won major international competitions, including First Prize at the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv in 2014; Second Prize, the Audience Prize, and the Critics' Prize at the F. Busoni International Piano Competition in Bolzano in 2011; First Prize at the "Premio Jaén" International Piano Competition in 2009; Second Prize at the "In Memory of Vladimir Horowitz" International Piano Competition in Kyiv in 2005; and First Prize at the "Prix du piano Interlaken Classics" in Bern in 2014, among many others.

In 2014, he was invited by Martha Argerich to perform in recital at the Progetto Martha Argerich Festival in Lugano. He has performed at Wigmore Hall in London, the Berlin Philharmonie, Gasteig Munich, the Ruhr Piano Festival, the International Chopin Piano Festival in Duszniki-Zdrój in Poland, Salle Cortot in Paris, Teatro Manzoni in Bologna, Parco della Musica in Rome, and numerous other prestigious concert halls. He has performed throughout Europe and the United States in recitals and with leading orchestras.

He has recorded for numerous television and radio broadcasters in Italy, Denmark, Spain, Ukraine, and Serbia. His first Naxos CD was released in 2010 and features music by Scarlatti, Ravel, Debussy, Rachmaninov, Stravinsky, and Mateos. In 2015, a new CD was released on the German label CAvi-music featuring Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and various works by Alexander Scriabin. In July 2017, also for CAvi-music, he released the complete Piano Sonatas by Galina Ustvolskaya, recorded at Teldex Studio in Berlin. His more recent recordings include Shostakovich’s Concerto No. 1 Op. 35 with the Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt conducted by Howard Griffiths (Klanglogo), as well as monographic CDs of Lili Boulanger (Carus), Chopin (Amadeus), Lunyov and Retinsky (Golka Records), Hugo Wolf (Splendor Records), and Maxim Shalygin (MS).