Cultural Portraits: Piano Virtuosos Denis Kozhukhin and Alexander Gadjiev
This fall, HK Sinfonietta will delight piano lovers with four concerts featuring the exceptional artistry of Queen Elisabeth and Chopin Competition prizewinners—pianists Denis Kozhukhin on 22 and 25 October, and Alexander Gadjiev on 5 and 8 November.
We had the chance to discuss with them about their musical journey and their collaboration with HKS.
Winner of the First Prize in the 2010 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, Russian-born Belgian pianist Denis Kozhukhin has established himself as one of the greatest pianists of his generation.
Growing up in a family of musicians has immensely influenced and shaped his musical education and journey.”I began my first piano lessons with my mother at the age of five. She quickly decided, though, that she would remain my mother and not my piano teacher—which was probably a wise decision! My father was a choir conductor and composer, and one of the greatest influences in my life was singing in his choir for eight years. Whenever I talk about musical education, I always recommend the choir as a foundation. It’s such a natural and social way to become a musician. Playing an instrument is often solitary—especially for pianists—but in a choir, you open your ears, you learn to breathe and phrase together, and you discover what it means to be part of a larger whole,” he explains with enthusiasm.
Denis Kozhukhin
Kozhukhin has appeared with many leading international orchestras, such as the Chicago, London and San Francisco symphony orchestras, Israel, London and Rotterdam Philharmonic orchestras, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Staatskapelle Berlin, Philadelphia Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra. He is also frequently invited to play at the prominent festivals of Verbier, Gstaad, Grafenegg, Dresden, Intonations, Tsinandali, Klavier Ruhr, Lanaudière and Jerusalem, as well as the BBC Proms.
Despite all his achievements, he doesn’t really think of being a musician as a career. “For me, it’s a way of life, a passion that I live every day. Of course, at some point, it becomes a career—we prepare for competitions, hope for engagements, and aim to reach new stages—but the essence of it is much deeper. Every new piece I learn feels like an achievement in itself. If I had to name one defining moment, it would be winning First Prize at the Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels in 2010. That was my last competition—thank God—and it opened new doors for me. Being a musician is really about constant evolution, and the work goes far beyond practicing for hours at the piano,” he says humbly.
On 22 October, Kozhukhin will perform piano solo works by Elgar, Mozart, Chopin and Balakirev. “The programme explores the idea of fantasy. In the second half, I move through different styles—from Mozart to Chopin to Balakirev—each entering the world of imagination in their own way. In the first half, I’m playing Elgar’s Enigma Variations in his own piano arrangement. It’s a version not widely known, but I’ve always admired Elgar’s music, and when I discovered this arrangement, I knew I wanted to play it. It also gives me a chance to explore the idea that the piano can be the closest representation of an orchestra, which I’ve always thought of as the most perfect organism in music,” he explains.
For his concerto performance on 25 October, he will play Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 3 under the baton of HKS Music Director Christoph Poppen. “Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto is especially close to my heart. I think it may have been the first classical piece I ever heard as a child, because my father loved his music and often played recordings at home. It’s also one of the most demanding concertos in the repertoire. Each time I perform, it feels like the first time. The piece always reveals something new, sometimes good, sometimes challenging, but always unforgettable,” he says.
The programme of the concert also includes Tchaikovsky’s exquisite Serenade for Strings, and the world première of rising composer Jing Wang’s Glacier Pulse.
Alexander Gadjiev
Born in the Italian-Slovenian border town of Gorizia, Alexander Gadjiev owes his musical experience to his family, where both parents were piano teachers and musicians, and to his hometown, a natural crossroad of people, cultures and languages. Both factors have played a crucial role in his natural ability to absorb and process various musical styles and languages and to reshape them to his own taste.
“It was very natural for me to hear piano sounds at home and I was immediately drawn to the complex nature of this instrument. It felt like a magical tool!” Gadjiev recalls. His family’s rich musical heritage has immensely shaped his approach to music. “Especially my father’s heritage: he studied with Boris Zemlyansky in Moscow, one of the legendary teachers during the Golden Age at the Conservatory. His countless stories and narrations about the musical life there has widely shaped my fantastic imagination in music,” he says.
Alexander Gadjiev by Andrej Grilc
Gadjiev played with an orchestra for the first time at the age of nine and gave his first solo concert at the age of ten. He studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and at the Hanns-Eisler-Hochschule in Berlin, graduating in 2022.
From 2019 to 2021, Gadjiev was a “BBC New Generation Artist”, which led to performing at renowned British festivals and concert halls, and to collaborations with various orchestras. In 2021, he won the 2nd Prize & Special Prize in the International Chopin Piano Competition.
Gadjiev is the cultural ambassador of his hometown “Gorizia – Nova Gorica, European Capital of Culture 2025”. With his natural ability to absorb and process different musical styles and languages—he speaks five languages!— he excels at reshaping them in his own taste.
“Gorizia and Nova Gorica are at the border. Border not only between two countries but two cultures, the Latin and the Slavic one. It is an intricate moment of history and human culture and being there has made me feel belonging to both worlds,” he explains.
On 5 November, Gadjiev will make his HK Début with solo works by Schubert, Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev. “My recital programme goes from grace, lyricism with Schubert, to tragedy with Chopin’s Ballade No 4, and Russian repertoire in the second half, which are very dear to me. Especially Prokofiev’s Sonata No 7, which is a work where one can really take a close look at death in the first instance,” he says.
For his concerto performance on 8 November, he will perform Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 2 under the baton of HKS Music Director Christoph Poppen. “Rachmaninov’s second piano concerto is a piece about rebirth. I constantly try to give birth again to my own musical instinct and this piece is a celebration of this,” he explains.
The programme of the concert also includes Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” Symphony, and the world première of Hong Kong composer So Ho Chi’s Five Situations on Urban Soundscape.
For his début in Hong Kong, Gadjiev might learn a sixth language!
More details about the concerts can be found here:
22 October: HKS Recital Series: Denis Kozhukhin Piano Recital
25 October: Great Piano Concertos: Denis Kozhukhin Plays Rachmaninov No 3
5 November: HKS Recital Series: Alexander Gadjiev Piano Recital
8 November: Great Piano Concertos: Alexander Gadjiev Plays Rachmaninov No 2