Sukyeon Kim is one of the most promising pianists of the younger generation: her playing is characterised by stupendous technique and great expressiveness. She won numerous competitions at a young age. Her broad repertoire includes works from the baroque to the modern era. For her piano recital at the Elbphilharmonie, she will present a varied programme of well-known composers – an unforgettable evening full of musical masterpieces and impressive sounds.

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Sukyeon Kim / Piano evening

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

"After the second encore, the hall is in a frenzy," the Abendblatt newspaper observed after Hayato Sumino's brilliant debut in the Recital Hall of the Elbphilharmonie. It was only natural that he would be invited back immediately afterward! And this time, the audience will be treated to a welcome in the Grand Hall of the Japanese YouTube star, who is causing a sensation there under the pseudonym "Cateen." On screen, he delights millions of viewers with his sensitive original compositions and spectacular arrangements of classics like Ravel's "Boléro." He only recently ventured into the "real world," onto international stages—with tremendous success. His first album for the Sony Classical label was also released shortly afterward.

Hayato Sumino / Klavierabend

"Some pianists are capable of setting their instrument ablaze from the very first note." This comment by a reviewer is, of course, not to be taken literally, but it nevertheless reveals much about Ilya Shmukler's pianistic temperament. "All or nothing" – with this motto, the Moscow native not only captured the jury of the renowned Concours Géza Anda 2024 by storm, but also the hearts of the audience. "Virtuoso," "brilliant," "a volcano," "an exceptional phenomenon"—these and similar descriptions can be read after his concerts. With a program ranging from Mozart to Chopin to Rachmaninoff, Ilya Shmukler will also be setting the sparks flying at ProArte.

Discover Talent: Ilya Shmukler / Piano Recital

If Lucas Debargue's life were ever to be made into a film, there would be a lot to tell: At the age of nine, the Frenchman began to devote himself to classical music and piano, but a few years later, he gave it all up again – playing the electric bass in a rock band and studying literature initially seemed more interesting. It wasn't until he was 20 that he returned to the piano, but he now also performed as a jazz pianist. At the renowned 2015 Tchaikovsky Competition, Debargue "only" placed fourth, but became a crowd favorite during the competition, laying the foundation for his international career.

Lucas Debargue / Piano Night

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Anyone who wins the junior section of the legendary International Tchaikovsky Competition at the age of 13 is under special scrutiny. Even ten years later, Alexander Malofeev continues to fulfill the associated expectations with flying colors. Since then, the Russian, dubbed a "world revolution on the piano" by the Wiener Standard, has collected numerous other prizes and performed with the world's greatest orchestras. In 2022, he stood in for Yevgeny Kissin with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. "The audience went wild with enthusiasm," wrote the Frankfurter Rundschau. At the Elbphilharmonie, the still only 23-year-old now devotes himself to both the grand masters of Russian piano music and darkly shimmering works from Northern Europe.

Alexander Malofeev, Piano

Almost exactly nine years ago, the Elbphilharmonie organ was played for the first time in a solo concert. Since then, titular organist Iveta Apkalna, who was also at the console back then, has presented ever-expanding organ repertoire with exciting programs—this time including minimal music by Philip Glass and music by organ favorites Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Liszt, and Pēteris Vasks.

Iveta Apkalna, Orgel

Jean Rondeau, the rising star of the harpsichord, returns to the Elbphilharmonie with his latest project. In a marathon concert featuring three one-hour blocks and two intermissions, he will play exclusively works by the composer Louis Couperin, who has accompanied him since childhood: "He made the instrument sing like no one before him—and perhaps no one since."

Jean Rondeau, Cembalo

Benjamin Appl is one of the most expressive artists of the young generation of singers and has been a household name among Hamburg's song fans since October 2023 at the latest. With full vocal commitment, he sang Robert Schumann's "Dichterliebe" in the Grand Hall of the Elbphilharmonie as a replacement for the ill Matthias Goerne. The verdict was unequivocal: "Breathtaking!" (Hamburger Abendblatt). Now he returns with this cycle and can unfold his "vast range of colors" (Süddeutsche Zeitung) all the more effectively in the intimacy of the Recital Hall. He will be joined by his longtime piano partner and one of the most renowned accompanists, James Baillieu.

Benjamin Appl / Song Recital

As the youngest participant in the competition's history, Roman Borisov won the Kissinger Piano Olympus in 2022 – for his "highly musical, intuitive, and at the same time structurally aware interpretations," according to the jury's verdict. His recently released debut album with works by Sergei Rachmaninoff was also well received, with music critic Eleonore Büning praising his mastery and the "tender elegance" of the recording. Rachmaninoff will now also be a focal point of the young Russian's first appearance at the Elbphilharmonie, where he will expand this year's "Pianomania" theme, "Mazurka," to include other dances in triple time.

Roman Borisov / Klavierabend

Meet the Artists: Raffaella Lupinacci

Opera Stabile Werk/Wirkbühne der Staatsoper

When his first solo album was released, Chris Thile was just 13 years old. Since then, he has effortlessly maintained his reputation as the coolest mandolin player under the sun. Whether bluegrass, jazz, or classical: Thile can do it all, and he plays with such disarming ease and virtuosity that even music lovers who have already experienced some excellence are regularly left speechless. He has already performed at the Elbphilharmonie three times – solo in 2017 and 2022, and with the Punch Brothers in 2018 – and each time he was enthusiastically applauded by the audience.

Chris Thile, Mandoline

He is one of the grand seigneurs of the organ world: Bernard Foccroulle. As the long-time artistic director of Brussels' La Monnaie Opera House until 2007, he also worked in the opera world, but his original profession was and remains that of an organist. As such, he has earned an outstanding reputation as an expert in both early and contemporary music.

Bernard Foccroulle, Orgel

Wherever he performs, he is showered with awards, thunderous applause, and emphatic criticism: the Franco-American harpsichordist Justin Taylor has catapulted himself to the top of the world with his expressive playing and well-conceived programs. On his latest album, he explores the connection between Johann Sebastian Bach and Italian music.

Justin Taylor, Cembalo

Female composers, cultural identities, contemporary music: Junyan Chen's interests are as broad as her talent is impressive. At the 2024 Leeds International Piano Competition, she not only won second prize, but also the Chamber Music Prize and the Alexandra Dariescu Award – a talent worth keeping an eye on! At ProArte, the young artist will search for connections between times and places with a multifaceted program: works by François Couperin will be presented alongside Maurice Ravel's homage to his fellow Baroque composer. Ravel's famous "La valse" and works by Olivier Messiaen reveal further facets of French soundscapes for solo piano. And with Amy Beach's "Variations on Balkan Themes," a transatlantic cultural encounter joins the pattern of connecting lines.

Discover Talent: Junyan Chen / Piano Recital

There are works that endure for centuries without aging: Johann Sebastian Bach's "Well-Tempered Clavier" is one such work. Especially when a sound perfectionist like Pierre-Laurent Aimard sits at the piano and breathes new life into the almost 300-year-old music. The Frenchman played the first part in Hamburg in 2015, and now, 10 years later, he returns with the second.

Pierre-Laurent Aimard / Piano Recital

The mazurka is more closely associated with Frédéric Chopin than with any other composer. He wrote his first mazurka at the age of 15, and nearly 60 more would follow over the course of his life. In them, Chopin expressed his sense of home and national pride, his longing for Poland and his family. At the same time, he transformed the dance into art music. Rafał Blechacz, winner of the 2005 Chopin Competition, was the best possible interpreter for this repertoire to conclude "Pianomania."

Rafał Blechacz / Klavierabend

Pomp, flourishes, and wigs – when it comes to the harpsichord, many people primarily associate it with the Baroque period. But at the beginning of the 20th century, this instrument, which had been forgotten for a long time, experienced a true renaissance. Mahan Esfahani presents classics from this period as well as even more contemporary works that catapult the harpsichord from the past into the present.

Mahan Esfahani, Cembalo

Doppelganger: Shadow of the Self
"Doppelgänger: Shadows of the Ego." In her program with this title, Svetlana Andreeva embarks on a search for the self in music. It should be said at the outset that she has long since found her (artistic) self – as evidenced not least by her brilliant victory at the Concours international de piano d'Orléans 2024. The competition is entirely dedicated to the music of the 20th and 21st centuries – a home game for the Ukrainian, who is a passionate interpreter of contemporary works and studied composition in addition to piano. In her program, Svetlana Andreeva focuses almost exclusively on early 20th-century repertoire: With Leoš Janáček, she gropes her way through the mists of his eponymous cycle, peers behind Karol Szymanowski's masks, and experiences descent into hell and redemption in Alexander Scriabin's "Black" and "White" Mass. A thrilling musical journey to the limits of consciousness.

Discover Talent: Svetlana Andreeva / Piano Recital

For more than two decades, Magdalena Kožená has captivated global audiences as one of the world's leading voices. The New York Times once described her unique presence as "vocally elegant, emotionally direct, and stylistically accomplished." In the intimate atmosphere of the small hall, the versatile singer, accompanied only by Daniele Caminiti's sensitive lute playing, presents a program of Baroque classics such as Purcell's world-famous lament "When I am laid in Earth" and arias by the composer and prima donna Barbara Strozzi.

Magdalena Kožená / Song recital

Space. Endless expanses. While these aren't the adventures of the Starship Enterprise, concert organist Mari Fukumoto's program offers a very special kind of adventure. She embarks on a musical journey into space – and this includes perhaps the most famous music about celestial bodies in a colorful organ arrangement.

Recital events in Hamburg

Sukyeon Kim / Piano eveni...

Elbphilharmonie

Hayato Sumino / Klavierab...

Elbphilharmonie

Discover Talent: Ilya Shm...

Elbphilharmonie

Lucas Debargue / Piano Ni...

Elbphilharmonie

The Artelize Podcast and ...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast - A ...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast: A l...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast and ...

Artelize

Alexander Malofeev, Piano...

Elbphilharmonie

Iveta Apkalna, Orgel

Elbphilharmonie

Jean Rondeau, Cembalo

Elbphilharmonie

Benjamin Appl / Song Reci...

Elbphilharmonie

Roman Borisov / Klavierab...

Elbphilharmonie

Meet the Artists: Raffael...

Staatsoper Hamburg

Chris Thile, Mandoline

Elbphilharmonie

Bernard Foccroulle, Orgel...

Elbphilharmonie

Justin Taylor, Cembalo

Elbphilharmonie

Discover Talent: Junyan C...

Elbphilharmonie

Pierre-Laurent Aimard / P...

Elbphilharmonie

Rafał Blechacz / Klaviera...

Elbphilharmonie

Mahan Esfahani, Cembalo

Elbphilharmonie

Discover Talent: Svetlana...

Elbphilharmonie

Magdalena Kožená / Song r...

Elbphilharmonie

Mari Fukumoto, Organ

Elbphilharmonie