The Russian pianist Evgeny Kissin gave an unusual and impressive concert at Carnegie Hall, New York.
According to The New York Times, Mr. Kissin took part in “With You, Armenia: A Concert to Commemorate the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide.” Sponsored by the Yerevan Perspectives International Music Festival, the event was part of an international tour featuring the impressive Hover State Chamber Choir, founded by Sona Hovhannisyan, who conducted the 25-voice ensemble in the first half of the program.
The concert included arrangements of Armenian folk songs and liturgical works, several contemporary selections, a Britten carol and the world premiere of a choral setting of Psalm 3 by the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki composed in remembrance of the Genocide.
After intermission, Mr. Kissin played four substantive Chopin works. The ovation was tumultuous, especially after Mr. Kissin, for an encore, played a mournful Armenian song. He ended the evening with a heroic account of Chopin’s famous Polonaise, and this time the music danced defiantly.
