Many people have been waiting for Behzod Abduraimov’s performance of Prokofiev’s Second Piano Concerto — that powerful work which caused a scandal when it was first performed near St Petersburg in 1913 because it was considered too futuristic. The work that we hear today is a version that Prokofiev himself reconstructed and reworked in 1923, as his first version was burnt on his departure from Russia.

Abduraimov gives a dazzling performance of the work with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and its conductor Vasily Petrenko. The Prokofiev stands in stark contrast to Alexey Shor’s Piano Concerto No. 1, which was composed and first performed in 2023. Abduraimov embraces the juxtaposition of the two works: “the depth and complexity of Prokofiev’s universe is set against Shor’s more lyrical and accessible art: each work reflects different facets of the human experience, and I think it’s good to share this diversity of feelings, textures and moods”.

Behzod Abduraimov, Piano
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko, Conductor