The most popular piano concerto ever is featured with monster pianist Lars Vogt.

Andrey Boreyko, conductor / Lars Vogt, piano / October 29 & 30 at 8 PM; November 1 at 8 PM Roy Thomson Hall

Toronto, Ontario – The most popular piano concerto of all time, the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1, will fill Roy Thomson Hall with the sure touch of Lars Vogt at the keys. Prokofiev’s elegant Symphony No. 1, "Classical", and Lutoslawski’s Concerto for Orchestra round out the evening. Russian conductor Andrey Boreyko will take the podium. This is the first of three Russian-themed concerts; November 5/6 features Boris Berezovsky in Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, and November 12/13/15 features Christian Tetzlaff in Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1.

"One of the most extraordinary musicians of any age group that I have had the fortune to be associated with." So says Sir Simon Rattle! Lars Vogt has rapidly established himself as one of the leading pianists of his generation. He will perform Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in Bb minor – one of the great crowd-pleasers of all time. A mainstay of the bravura concerto repertoire, it commences with a grand melodramatic gesture and soon arrives at a definitive illustration of the late-Romantic doctrine of the Big Tune: a sobbing, throbbing melody that goes straight for the jugular. After a lyrical slow movement that brings to mind swans in white tutus, the finale is Russian in tone, with a Cossack flavour.

Born in Düren, Germany, Lars Vogt first came to international attention by winning second prize at the 1990 Leeds International Competition. Since then he has pursued an active career that comprises major concerto and recital performances throughout Europe, Asia and North America.

An exclusive EMI recording artist, Mr. Vogt has made seven discs including the Schumann and Grieg concertos and the first two Beethoven concertos with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle. His recording of Prokofiev and Shostakovich cello sonatas with Truls Mørk was awarded a Diapason d’Or in 1997. Mr. Vogt has met with outstanding success in North America, including two Hollywood Bowl concerts with Sir Simon Rattle, and successful debuts with the Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Minnesota and St. Louis Symphony Orchestras. His European engagements have included appearances with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich, and the BBC Philharmonic under Paavo Järvi at the BBC Proms. Mr. Vogt’s recent appearances also have included concerts with the London Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Orchestra, Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw and the Vienna Symphony. In 2001 Mr. Vogt gave the world premiere of a new concerto by his wife, Russian composer Tatiana Komarova. His 1997 tour of the Far East included four performances with the NHK Symphony in Tokyo that were broadcast nationwide on radio and television in Japan.

A biography of Andrey Boreyko is available upon request.

Tickets: $98, $77, $65, $32.
Call the Roy Thomson Hall box office at 416 593 4828.

Mon-Fri, 9-8. Sat, 12-5. Sun, 2 hrs prior to concert start. VISA/MC/AMEX.