Mozart. Prokofiev. Beethoven

On September 27, the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory welcomed the gifted young pianist Shao Ziyu from China. Accompanied by the Festival Orchestra under the direction of renowned conductor Denis Vlasenko, the brilliant young musician performed Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3.

The programme also featured works by Mozart and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. Bringing together masterpieces of world culture, the concert paid tribute to the timeless genius of the great classical composers.

Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26, is one of the Russian composer’s most celebrated works. It has long been a staple of the repertoire of the world’s finest pianists, from Emil Gilels and Van Cliburn to Vladimir Horowitz and Byron Janis.

The concerto uniquely combines the exuberant spirit of a young composer with a mature command of technique and virtuosity. An unrestrained hymn to youth and light, a celebration of life and its triumph, infused with the sweeping breadth and heroic spirit of the Russian tradition — this is Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto.

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 strikes a very different tone. Its famous “fate” motif, or theme of destiny, has become an enduring symbol of classical music and has found its way into countless forms of popular culture, from cinema and advertising to popular music.