THE IMPERIAL CRAFTED A SPELLBINDING RECITAL ON STEINWAY WITH AN AWARD-WINNING HUNGARIAN PIANIST ZOLTÁN FEJÉRVÁRI

T

he concert was yet another glorious addition to the PIANO CLUB, launched in 2014 for luxury musical recitals with pianists from world over. It now showcased another winning artist in association with Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre and in Media Partnership with La Polo India- India’s first International Polo magazine, dedicating the evening to music aficionados. The concert honored the tradition of Nostalgia’s classic European dining experience with live music. The audience fastened their seatbelts for the musical rollercoaster ride of their lives as the charismatic Zoltán Fejérvári performed some of the most fascinating and popular pieces on the fabulous Steinway grand piano at The Imperial. Zoltán’s performance was simply splendid, highly evocative and endearing like a rhapsodic whirlwind, leaving the music aficionados mesmerized. With resourceful pianism, lyrical instincts and thoughtfulness, Zoltán captured the essence of Beethoven: Sonata in C Major op 53 "Waldstein and the scintillating Kodály: Dances from Marosszék from the 19th and 20th centuries and seemed determined to make a strong impression. It was purely an evening of spectacular virtuosity when he played with rich flair and added vigor to the burst of chords.

Vijay Wanchoo, Sr. Executive Vice President and GM expressed his views on the occasion: “It gives us a great pleasure to celebrate yet another eclectic sojourn in western classic music genre, at the Piano Club. We have always worked towards promoting art and culture at The Imperial and these niche luxury piano recitals at Nostalgia, 1911 Brasserie are designed to wield magic and make one experience exclusive repertoires, by award winning pianists. In the past coveted pianists like Karl Lutchmayer from UK, Marouan Benebdullah and Balazs fulei from Hungary have created ripples with their art. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre for making this possible and inviting a passionate chamber musician like Zoltán Fejérvári who has been effortless in showcasing Hungarian musical tradition and La Polo India for being our highly supportive Media Partner”.

He further said “Stepping towards luxurious live piano recitals on Steinway, our effort has always been to bring to our guests traditional and inventive concerts by globally acclaimed maestros. The aim is to organize many such great evenings at the Piano Club, sweeping the music lovers with unique renditions each time.”

The pièce de résistance by Zoltán concluded with a lavish buffet spread of traditional European recipes from Nostalgia, in the midst of praises for the musical maestro. The perfect French onion soup, Coq au vin or Ratatouille, the specialties from the erstwhile years evoked the era gone by in true western style, satiating the connoisseurs.

Repertoire by Zoltán Fejérvári played at the concert

Beethoven: Sonata in C Major op 53 "Waldstein"

This sonata was composed by Beethoven in 1804 and dedicated to count Ferdinand von Waldstein, his first protector in Bonn, the one who arranged for Beethoven to study with Haydn in Vienna. That is why the sonata op. 53 is also known as the “Waldstein” sonata. This sonata is considered to be one of the notable piano sonatas that Beethoven ever composed, maybe equalled only by the Appassionata sonata. (Source: http://www.all-about-beethoven.com/waldstein.html)

Kodály: Dances from Marosszék

Zoltán Kodály the great Hungarian composer and scholar composed the piano version of this work in 1927 and decided its colorful, folk-inspired music would adapt well to a larger setting. The 1930 orchestral rendition, while not a standard repertory item, is the more popular of the two versions of the work today. (Source: http://www.allmusic.com)

the folk instruments sound on the piano: flutes, percussion instruments, and also a Hungarian folk song: "Two flowers were given to my by my rose..."

The concert was yet another glorious addition to the PIANO CLUB, launched in 2014 for luxury musical recitals with pianists from world over.