Sergei Babayan

Carnegie Hall audiences last heard Sergei Babayan in jaw-dropping concerts with his protégé, Daniil Trifonov. The veteran pianist returns in a recital comprising some of his most-celebrated repertoire. It begins with Liszt’s second ballade, as notable for its aching restraint as its thunderous eruptions; short piano works by Rachmaninoff, a composer especially close to Babayan’s heart; and a fantasia by Vladimir Ryabov, which, after a recent performance by Babayan, was called “the most startling discovery of the evening … something strikingly novel” (Bachtrack). The second half of the concert takes on a softer tone, with Schubert’s serene Piano Sonata in G Major bookended by Liszt’s piano transcriptions of songs by Schubert.