
Programme and Performers
Programme
Amira Casar Love among the Ruins by Robert Browning
Johann Sebastian Bach arr Alexander Siloti Prelude in B minor, BWV 855a Arr. by Alexander Siloti
Jules Massenet Méditation from ‘Thais’
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (arr JYLee) The Nutcracker: Overture, Op 71a for 8 hands
Antonín Dvořák Slavonic Dance in E Minor, Op 72/2: Dumka Allegretto grazioso for 4 hands
Johannes Brahms Sixteen Waltzes Op 39: no 3, 5 and 6 for 4 hands
César Franck Violin Sonata in A major: movements 3 and 4
Antonio Vivaldi Sovente il sole
Francis Poulenc Le travail du peintre FP 161: I. Pablo Picasso
Samuel Barber Sure on this shining night
Antonio Vivaldi The Four Seasons: Winter – II. Largo for 4 hands
Vedrò Con Mio Diletto
Arvo Pärt Pari intervallo for 4 hands
Antonio Vivaldi The Four Seasons: Winter – I. Allegro non molto for 4 hands
Astor Piazzolla Oblivion
Sofia Gubaidulina Musical Toys: 6. Song of the fisherman
Amira Casar How Do I Love Thee? by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Marcello-Bach Adagio from Concerto in D Minor, BWV 974
Gioachino Rossini Overture from ‘William Tell’ for 8 hands
George Frideric Händel Coronato il crin d'alloro from ‘Agrippina’
Astor Piazzolla arr. Khatia Buniatishvili Libertango for 4 hands
Performers
Khatia Buniatishvili piano
Amira Casar actor
Jakub Józef Orliński countertenor
Axelle Saint-Cirel mezzo-soprano
Nicola Benedetti violin
Sodi Braide piano
Hélène Mercier piano
Gvantsa Buniatishvili piano
Artist Biographies
French-Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili is one of the most prominent classical artists of today. She has been blessed with impressive ability and discovered the piano at the age of three thanks to her mother, who used to leave a new musical score on her piano each day for her to devour. She gave her first concert with the Chamber Orchestra of Tbilisi at the age of six. She studied with Tengiz Amiredjibi in Tbilisi and went on to work with Oleg Maisenberg in Vienna.
She is a fixture at the most prestigious venues around the world, and has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Berliner Philharmonie, Royal Festival Hall, Vienna’s Musikverein and Konzerthaus, Philharmonie de Paris, and Suntory Hall, as well as at the Salzburg, Verbier, BBC Proms, Progetto Martha Argerich and Hollywood Bowl festivals. Notable collaborations include performances with the Israel, Los Angeles and Munich Philharmonic orchestras, London, NHK and San Francisco Symphony orchestras, Philadelphia Orchestra and Orchestre National de Paris, and working with prominent conductors, among them Zubin Mehta, Gustavo Dudamel, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Paavo Järvi, Jaap Van Zweden, Gianandrea Noseda, Myung-Whun Chung and Leonard Slatkin.
The audience she inspires with her artistry is not limited to traditional classical music lovers. Her charisma attracts a younger generation and those who would not usually listen to classical music. Her deeply humanistic qualities, piercing intellect, mastery of five languages, involvement in diverse areas of art and in several cultures, mixture of traditional classical musical training and very personal interpretations of composers’ scores give her performances depth, intensity and grace.
She is the recipient of two ECHO Klassik Awards, and her recordings range from music by Chopin, Rachmaninov, Brahms, Liszt, Bach and Schubert, to Satie, Morricone, Gainsbourg, Pärt and Cage. In addition to her solo albums, she has recorded with Gidon Kremer, Paavo Järvi and the band Coldplay.
A committed humanitarian, Khatia Buniatishvili has participated in benefit concerts for causes close to her heart: the plight of refugees, the United Nations, human rights and music education.
Nicola Benedetti is one of the most sought-after violinists of her generation. Her ability to captivate audiences and her wide appeal as an advocate for classical music has made her one of the most influential artists of today.
She began this season with a performance of Marsalis’s Violin Concerto with the Belgian National Orchestra; she also returned to the London Symphony Orchestra for Sir James MacMillan’s Violin Concerto with Gianandrea Noseda and closes the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s season with the Brahms Violin Concerto conducted by Maxim Emelyanychev.
She won a Grammy Award in 2020 and two Classical Brit awards (2012 and 2013) and records exclusively for Decca, for whom her latest release is the Beethoven Violin Concerto. Other recent recordings include violin concertos by Elgar and Marsalis. In 2021 she was named Personality of the Year by BBC Music Magazine for her online support of young musicians during the pandemic.
She has always been a dedicated, passionate ambassador and leader in music education and in 2019 she established the Benedetti Foundation, which aims to provide transformative experiences through mass music events, uniting those who believe music is integral to life’s education. In its first four years, the foundation worked with close to 70,000 participants of all ages and levels, instrumentalists and non-instrumentalists alike, across 105 countries.
Nicola Benedetti was appointed a CBE in 2019, awarded the Queen’s Medal for Music (2017), and an MBE in 2013. In addition, she holds the positions of Vice President (National Children’s Orchestras), Big Sister (Sistema Scotland), Patron (National Youth Orchestras of Scotland’s Junior Orchestra, Music in Secondary Schools Trust and Junior Conservatoire at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland). In October 2022 she became Director of the Edinburgh International Festival, the first Scottish and first female Director since the festival began in 1947.