Concert Franco-Russe

Tickets for this concert have sold out online. A VERY limited number of additional tickets (circa 5) MAY be available at the door, depending on ticketholder turnout, and possibly as Standing Room Only spots. Please be aware that if you have not already purchased a ticket online or directly from BRAI, and come to the French Cultural Center hoping to purchase at the door, you may be turned away.

Join us for a special Franco-Russian concert by internationally renowned pianist Roustem Saitkoulov. Born in Kazan, Russia and trained in Moscow and Munich, Saitkoulov lives in Paris and will be coming to us directly after a US tour with the leading violinist Maxim Vengerov, with whom he plays regularly.

"Intelligence, nobility, elegance and transparency distinguish pianist Roustem Saitkoulov’s technical and musico-structural approach" legendary conductor Sir Neville Marriner has said of Saitkoulov, "enabling him to deliver a powerful musical statement by way of well-balanced interpretations."

The program spans the 19th and early 20th centuries with compositions by two French composers who worked with Diaghilev--Debussy and Ravel--as well as a Polish-French composer, Chopin, whose music was used in one of the Ballets Russes' most beloved ballets, Les Sylphides. It also includes music by Rachmaninov, in whose honor the Russian Conservatory in Paris was named and who lived the last 25 years of his life in emigration in the US and performed widely there as a pianist and conductor.

Schedule and Program

6:15 pm Doors open, Russian Tea reception

7:00 pm Concert begins
Frederic CHOPIN Nocturne op. 55 no. 2
Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante op. 22
Sergey RACHMANINOV 6 Moments Musicaux op.16

7:45 pm Intermission
Claude DEBUSSY 4 Preludes
Maurice RAVEL Gaspard de la nuit

8:30 pm Concert ends

"One appreciates the remarkable technical potential of Roustem Saitkoulov, but even more the musical prospective he conveys. Saitkoulov does not over-exploit his considerable abilities, but is most sensitively aware of the poetical assence of the music he plays." Alain Cochard, Diapason

Roustem Saitkoulov began his training in the Kazan Conservatory at age 6, earned his Soloist's Diploma from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow under Elisso Virsaladze and his Master's from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich. He has won prizes in numerous international competitions, most notably at Italy's Busoni Competition as well as Rome Piano Competition, the Marguerite Long Competition in Paris and the Grand Prix of the Montecarlo World Piano-Masters. He has appeared with leading orchestras such as London's Royal Philharmonic, the Monte Carlo Philharmonic, Prague Symphony, Sinfonia Varsovia, RAI Symphony Orchestra, Zurich's Tonhalle Orchestra , St-Petersburg Philharmonic, Tokyo New City Orchestra and Beijing Symphony. In addition to appearing with solo recitals in the great concert halls of 5 continents, as well as participating in top music festivals (Montreux, La Roque d’Anthéron, Yokohama, Bologna, Merano, Brescia-Bergamo, Edinburgh, Piano aux Jacobins, etc), Mr. Saitkoulov has made many recordings (including for EMI Classics) as well as had his concerts aired on TV and Radio (France 2, France 3 and Mezzo, Radio Classique, NDR Kultur, etc)."Roustem Saitkoulov has a high-class Russian-trained technique" Gramophone magazine has declared, "His disc of Etudes is an imaginative debut selection...and grandly articulated."