Pavel Kolesnikov was born into a Siberian family of scientists and studied both the piano and violin for ten years, before concentrating solely on the piano. Kolesnikov has studied at the Moscow State Conservatory with Sergey Dorensky, London’s Royal College of Music with Norma Fisher, and at Brussels’ Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel with Maria João Pires thanks to generous support from Mr. Christopher D Budden, the RCM Scholarship Foundation and the Hattori Foundation. Since becoming Prize Laureate of the Honens Prize for Piano in 2012, Pavel has performed extensively across the globe including at such venues as Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, Berlin’s Konzerthaus, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Melbourne Recital Centre, Saitama Theatre in Tokyo, and the Louvre Auditorium in Paris. With his third release, Kolesnikov is bringing to life the music of composer Louis Couperin, titled, Couperin: Dances from the Bauyn Manuscript. Couperin was one of the greatest composers of keyboard music since the seventeenth century. However, he has been overshadowed by his famous nephew François since the seventeenth century, but over the last decade Louis Couperin’s reputation has increased. Kolesnikov’s addition to this cannon will certainly help in bringing awareness of the composer. Kolesnikov’s playing brings out the unencumbered creativity and astonishing harmonic tension and release that makes Couperin’s piano music so vivacious. That’s the short of it!
Positives:
Kolesnikov’s playing is stylish, energetic and brings the technique of the piano and harpsichord, for which the music was originally composed into a focus. Kolesnikov’s Yamaha piano features two contrasting actions, one of which conveys the bristling yet muted immediacy of a harpsichord lute stop and the eloquence of the piano.
Bottom Line:
Pavel Kolesnikov is a pianist that has a singing techinique that allows him to build dynamics and phrasing into the tonal shadings of the written page that bring the notes to life and lets them vibrate with musical excaty. His playing is intelligent and ballened with clarity of voicings, lines and counterpoint. His ornaments and flourishes are a joy to listen to and never detract from the flow or musical intention of the melody. This is piano brought to life in a natural and musical manner that will have you inspired by its rmarkable sound and performance by Kolenskikov.