KEVIN CHEN

On Sunday 𝟏𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, Dubai will welcome the renowned 𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐊𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐧, a young Canadian artist who has taken the music world by storm in just a few years. First Prize winner of multiple distinguished international competitions, including the 2023 Arthur Rubinstein Piano Master Competition, 2022 Concours de Genève, 2021 Franz Liszt International Piano Competition, and the 2020 Hilton Head International Piano Competition, to mention a few, Chen has already performed in such acclaimed venues as New York’s Carnegie Hall and London’s St John’s Smith Square, and will now be appearing at Dubai Opera as part of the 𝐕𝐈𝐏 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 initiative, organised by 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐓 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩. Presenting a 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥, Chen will open this evening with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata No. 28 in A major, an 1816 work that is widely considered to mark the beginning of the great composer’s final period, with more complex forms and ideas, sophisticated themes and motifs, and a greater focus on polyphony. This will be followed by Composer-in-Residence Alexey Shor’s Sonata No. 2, a work in three movements that takes a neoclassical approach to contemporary music, maintaining the primacy of lyricism and melody while exploring its themes with a decidedly modern viewpoint. Then, to close off the first part of the concert, comes Felix Mendelssohn’s Variations sérieuses, op. 54, a relatively brief set of piano variations published in 1842 that are renowned for their beauty and for the virtuosic demands they make of the performer. After the 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, the Canadian pianist will conclude with two works from the pen of Frédéric Chopin, starting with the celebrated Polonaise-Fantaisie from 1846. Hailed as one of the Polish composer’s last major compositions, the piece, as its name suggests, offers an intriguing blend of two distinct styles, since it is fundamentally a Fantasy yet owes a huge debt to the polonaise form. Finally, comes the Études, Op. 25, the last formal study for solo piano from Chopin’s illustrious career. First published in 1837, the work is famous for its technical demands, and will mark the perfect note to close off Chen’s first performance at Dubai Opera!

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏

𝐋𝐮𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐠 𝐯𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧

Sonata no. 28 in A major, op. 101

1. Etwas lebhaft, und mit der innigsten Empfindung
2. Lebhaft, marschmäßig

    III. Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll

1. Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr, und mit Entschlossenheit

𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐲 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫

Sonata no. 2

1. Allegretto
2. Adagio con grazia

    III. Molto allegro con fuoco

𝐅𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐱 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐡𝐧

Variations sérieuses, op. 54

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐

𝐅𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐤 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧

Polonaise-Fantaisie, op. 61

𝐅𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐤 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧

12 Etudes, op. 25

1. Allegro sostenuto
2. Presto
3. Allegro
4. Agitato
5. Vivace
6. Allegro
7. Lento
8. Vivace
9. Allegro assai
10. Allegro con fuoco
11. Lento — Allegro con brio
12. Allegro molto con fuoco