Maxim Kinasov came on stage and threw himself into the keyboard with the same animal like ferocity that I have not seen since Richter.Infact it reminded me so much of Richter to see this young man so enveloped in the sounds that he was producing.Pulling,punching caressing the most wondrous rich sounds out of the piano.An Intermezzo dedicated to Brahms by Slonimsky opened his programme of dedications – to Brahms,Paganini,Bach and finally to the oppression of World War Two with Prokofiev’s 7th Sonata ,one of the Trilogy of War Sonatas.
Max writes that I got the wrong Slonimsky,Nicolas instead of Sergei and i am glad too be corrected and to learn even more about this remarkable family https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Slonimsky
From the very first notes Maxim’s fingers were like limpets on the keys .His whole body was engaged in the music that was being reproduced in a voyage of discovery that was quite hypnotic and mesmerising.An outpouring lament of sumptuous sounds .A deep yearning as the variations unfolded ,a kaleidoscope of colour with trills gleaming like jewels .There was an animal like urgency of cascades of notes ending in a silence of such aching poignancy.Like an animal let loose on the keys with that same hypnotic ferocity of Richter and the same total mastery.A ferocious passion that swept all before it.
From the opening theme of Paganini it was obvious that we were in for an exhilarating performance of Brahms’s notoriously difficult variations.The beautifully shaped theme led to variations of such differing character all played with a continuous driving forward movement .Even the beautiful second ‘poco animato’ was on a great wave carrying all with it on its long voyage.There was charm too in the eighth variation that contrasted with the overpowering force of the ninth and tenth.There was ravishing beauty in the poco Andante before the tumultuous whirlwind of the final Presto.What grandeur at the end!I doubt this piano has ever sounded so ‘grand’ as in the velvet gloved hands of this giant of a pianist.
The Bach/Siloti Prelude in B minor was played with a simplicity and a magical sense of colour but there was also a certain solidity to the sound that gave it an austere reverent importance.
The Prokofiev Sonata unleashed the same unconventional ferocity that I remember from its dedicatee Sviatoslav Richter when he played it in London in 1971.I was a student in my final years at the Royal Academy and i remember being overwhelmed by a force of nature that broke all the conventional rules that had been imbued in me in that noble institution.I remember my wife thinking she had made a mistake in an acting exam and being told by a great Italian artist:’But there are no rules just convince me.’And my God Richter certainly did that as Maxim did today too.From the very first call to arms of ferocity and clarity.Through the sumptuous beauty of the Andante with it’s swirling visions of desolation in a hoped for paradise.The final brutality of the Precipitato with a driving intensity that swept Maxim on to impossible heights where the rhythms kept him afloat and notes became superfluous.The hysterical excitement of the final breathtaking pages were greeted by cheers from an audience hypnotised by a truly great artist.Headed for the heights this tormented soul finds home only at the keyboard like Richter or Beethoven even!
Chapeau Maestro I am proud to be able to say that I heard you at the beginning of your illustrious career
Maxim Kinasov is the First Prize Winner of more than 10 prestigious international piano competitions around the world, including UK ‘s 2022 Birmingham International Piano Competition and 2022 Windsor International Piano Competition, and 2019 Cantù International Piano and Orchestra Competition and 2014 Chopin Roma International Piano Competition in Italy . He also won Second Prizes in prestigious 2019 Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition ( UK ) and 2015 Gian Battista Viotti International Piano Competition ( Italy ). In 2017, he graduated with distinction from Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire in the class of Sergei Dorensky and moved to the UK to study at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. In 2018, Maxim won the RNCM Gold Medal and played in the Gold Medal Winners concert at Wigmore Hall in March 2019. Also, he was selected as a Kirckman Concert Society Artist for 2019-20 and played his full-length solo debut at Wigmore Hall in October 2019. He completed his International Artist Diploma degree in 2021 at the RNCM in the class of Ashley Wass . Maxim performed internationally with the most prestigious orchestras in the UK and abroad, such as the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Hallé, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, RNCM Symphony Orchestra , Orchestra of the Teatro Carlo Felice , St Petersburg State Academic Symphony Orchestra and the European Union Chamber Orchestra .
Absolutely delighted to play my debut recital at St Mary’s Perivale “New Faces” Festival in London last Sunday.
Big thanks to Hugh Mather and Christopher Axworthy for your invitation to play in this wonderful venue!
And also thank you Christopher Axworthy for the lovely 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄, which you can read below:
“𝗠𝗮𝘅𝗶𝗺 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘀𝗼𝘃 came on stage and threw himself into the keyboard with the same animal like ferocity that I have not seen since Richter. (…)
An Intermezzo dedicated to Brahms by 𝗦𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗸𝘆 opened his programme of dedications (…)
From the very first notes Maxim’s fingers were like limpets on the keys. (…) a voyage of discovery that was quite hypnotic and mesmerising. A deep yearning as the variations unfolded, a kaleidoscope of colour with trills gleaming like jewels. (…) A ferocious passion that swept all before it. (…)
From the opening theme of 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗶 (…) we were in for an exhilarating performance of 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗺𝘀’s notoriously difficult variations. The beautifully shaped theme led to variations of such differing character all played with a continuous driving forward movement. (…) this piano has ever sounded so ‘grand’ as in the velvet gloved hands of this giant of a pianist.
The 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵/𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘁𝗶 Prelude in B minor was played with a simplicity and a magical sense of colour but there was also a certain solidity to the sound that gave it an austere reverent importance. (…)
The 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗲𝘃 Sonata unleashed the same unconventional ferocity that I remember from its dedicatee Sviatoslav Richter (…) Through the sumptuous beauty of the Andante with its swirling visions of desolation in a hoped for paradise. The hysterical excitement of the final breathtaking pages were greeted by cheers from an audience hypnotised by a truly great artist. (…)
Chapeau Maestro, I am proud to be able to say that I heard you at the beginning of your illustrious career.”
📌𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛 𝗢𝗡 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗨𝗕𝗘📌
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ExzhHIWqf8
ChristopherAxworthy-MusicCommentary 