Alexei Volodin: Medtner, Prokofiev & Rachmaninov

Fairy tale atmosphere pervades an all-Russian musical evening graced by Alexei Volodin’s supreme technique. Nikolai Medtner’s Fairy Tales (Skazki) have a sweeping grandeur initially reminiscent of Rachmaninov, but which possess harmonic touches that are all Medtner’s own. Prokofiev’s single-movement Third Sonata is a short, energetic work written in 1917, using themes he had composed while a student a decade earlier. Volodin closes his programme with Rachmaninov’s first Piano Sonata – the lesser-known of the composer’s two works in the genre. It’s a work of swirling textures and powerful mood changes, which Rachmaninov originally planned as a programmatic sonata based on the Faust legend. Although he seems to have abandoned that idea, traces of this initial intention can still be heard in the tumultuous music.

Ticket prices: £45,35,25,18,10