"He has supernatural mastery; you can't keep up with his hands," claims The New York Times. "He is a magical soloist," echoes The Independent. "He is a lyricist from God," believes The Times. And everyone agrees on one thing: Behzod Abduraimov is extraordinarily suited for music of great passions — he plays it powerfully and vividly. Brahms, Liszt, Czerny, Debussy, Stravinsky — these are his choices for Riga: on November 6, the young star will take the stage of the National Theatre.
At the age of sixteen, Behzod Abduraimov flew across the ocean and began an independent life in the United States. At eighteen, he won the International Piano Competition in London, the first and only of his career, and since then he has only competed against himself. At twenty-two, he became an exclusive artist for Decca Classics. At twenty-six, he gave a solo concert for 2,700 listeners at Carnegie Hall in New York.
Recordings, awards, festivals, famous halls, solo concerts, and performances with outstanding orchestras, endless tours… Behzod Abduraimov's creative life is arranged much like that of all great and sought-after musicians. What sets him apart from his colleagues is the breadth of gesture and a special ability to play demonic music, whether it be Saint-Saëns' "Danse Macabre" or Liszt's "Mephisto Waltz." However, he is equally convincing with Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff — hence critics endlessly debate which school this native of Tashkent, who abandoned his studies at the famous Juilliard School in New York, belongs to.
Tashkent has given the world at least four major pianists, and Abduraimov had role models: the names of Yefim Bronfman, Alexei Sultanov, and Stanislav Yudenich were already resounding when he took his first steps in playing the piano.
As the fourth and youngest child in a family of a physicist and a music teacher, Behzod experienced a profound shock in his childhood. "One of the turning points in my life was the loss of my father. I was nine years old, and my life changed dramatically. I set a goal for myself: if my calling is music, I must achieve success by the age of twenty. And that’s what happened."
Having received an excellent education from Tamara Popovich at the Central State Lyceum named after V. Uspensky in Tashkent, Behzod was accepted on a full scholarship to the Juilliard School; he was also offered to continue his studies in Moscow and London. However, all plans of the 15-year-old virtuoso were turned upside down by a meeting with Professor Stanislav Yudenich at the International Piano Academy on Lake Como. Instead of going to New York, the young man applied to Yudenich's class at the International Center for Music at Park University in Kansas City — and found a teacher and friend for life.
Just three years later, Abduraimov won a challenging competition in London, performing in four different halls, and in the final — with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. His debut disc featuring recordings of Liszt, Saint-Saëns, and Prokofiev on the Decca Classics label was awarded the Choc de Classica and Diapason Découverte prizes, while two albums from 2020 with Rachmaninoff's music — with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra for Sony Classical and with the Concertgebouw Orchestra for RCO Live — were nominated for the Opus Klassik award in several categories. A film about Abduraimov's first appearance at the BBC Proms with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra was released on DVD. His fresh album "Shadows of My Ancestors" for Alpha Classics, featuring works by Balakirev, Tchaikovsky, Borodin, Debussy, and Prokofiev, has been highly recommended by Gramophone magazine and Apple Music.
Is it worth listing the orchestras and conductors with whom Behzod has collaborated over 15 years of super-active concert activity? The list would be grand and filled with loud names. Among them is Sinfonietta Riga under the direction of Normunds Sne, where Abduraimov soloed in the final concert of the 2022/2023 season in Riga, performing Prokofiev.
For his recital at the National Theatre of Latvia, the pianist, considered a national treasure of Uzbekistan, is preparing a program capable of impressing even the most experienced listener. "Reading Dante" by Liszt, "Suite Bergamasque" by Debussy, excerpts from Stravinsky's ballet "Petrushka", Vier Klavierstücke, op. 119 by Brahms — this is not just beautiful music, but music that demands phenomenal virtuosity, stylistic precision, extraordinary temperament, and artistry from the performer, which is everything that Behzod Abduraimov possesses in full measure.
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