Anton Kuerti

In Canada, the pianist Anton Kuerti enjoys all the fame in the world. In this part of the world, his name is mentioned in glowing terms, but only among initiates, and so we're doing everything to get him the recognition here that he deserves. Of course, anyone who heard the miracle of his glorious playing of the Diabelli Variations two seasons ago is already a convert. At the time, we also had a glimpse of Kuerti's sense of humour: in his eccentric introduction, he was quite graphic in his portrayal of Beethoven giving Diabelli a 'kick in the pants' - as if he was there himself. His interpretations seem to be in the same vein. Each performance is preceded by a profound study of the score and a critical comparison of the 'Urtexte' editions with manuscripts. Not a detail escapes him and few pianists are able to enter the mind of the composer as he can. He is most at home in the music of early Viennese Romanticism. Come and hear for yourself the 'Sturm und Drang' in Mozarts tragic Sonata in A minor. Let the tense dialectic conflict between the themes in Beethoven's 'Waldstein Sonata' engulf you. And weep at Schubert's affecting sound landscapes of light and shadow.