Artist Interview: Ignat Solzhenitsyn, piano

By jwoods on February 13, 2012

For our next artist interview, pianist Ignat Solzhenitsynย was gracious enough to sit down and answer a few questions about his upcoming performance with the Brentano Quartet on Sunday, February 19th at the Perelman Theater.

Ignat Solzhenitsyn

Ignat Solzhenitsyn

Juliet Woods: ย What is it like for you to perform with the Brentano Quartet? How is playing with a chamber ensemble different for you?

Ignat Solzhenitsyn:ย  In the case of the Brentanos, I have known them since before they became a quartet, i.e. for more than twenty years now! ย So working with them just feels second-nature; we hardly need to discuss anything. In other situations, when joining a quartet one does not know, there is indeed more of an adjustment, since the dynamic is actually more similar to a one-on-one meeting than to a chamber music meeting (say, at a summer festival), where all might be new to each other.

JW: ย Ginastera's Piano Quintet is a piece that not all of our audience members will be familiar with. What are the challenges of this piece? What is it like to perform it?

IS:ย ย The rarely-heard Ginastera Quintet is a thrilling piece of avant-garde expressionism. ย Although its tonal language is at times astringent, its rhythmic energy and structural cohesiveness make for compelling listening. ย For us performers, it is most unusual, in a chamber work, to find a cadenza - and not one, but three of them! ย So the four traditional movements - weighty opening, witty scherzo, wistful slow movement, rollicking finale - are interspersed with cadenzas for viola and cello, then the two violins, and finally solo piano. ย All these push our instruments, and our techniques, to the very limit, while never losing sight of a grander musical purpose. ย And the brief, demonic finale is as hair-raising a finish as one could ever wish for!

Ignat Solzhenitsyn, piano and the Brentano Quartet appear on Sunday, February 19th at 3 pm at the Perelman Theater. For tickets and information, visit the concert page or call the PCMS Box Office at 215-569-8080.