Piano recital 'Songs'

Sergei Babayan's SONGS programme is a poetic journey on the piano through the vocal music of different eras – each piece sounds like a song without words. Inspired by masterpieces from the vocal repertoire, Babayan has put together a colourful mosaic of transcriptions for this evening – from Liszt and Rachmaninoff to his own arrangements.

The first part features Schubert songs in virtuoso arrangements by Liszt, romances by Schumann, Liszt and Rachmaninoff, and sensitive transcriptions by Ponce, Kreisler and Volodos. The second part is devoted to lyrical miniatures by Mompou, Sibelius, Komitas, Poulenc, Gershwin and others – including transcriptions by Babayan himself. He transforms vocal gems such as Grieg's 'Ein Traum' and Fauré's 'Au bord de l'eau' into deeply felt pianistic monologues.