Czech Philharmonic • Madrid

Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) was an extraordinarily gifted pianist whose hand could span more than twelve piano keys, as well as a composer and conductor. He lived and worked between East and West and between the Late Romanticism of the 19th century and the musical modernism of the first half of the 20th century. At the age of nine, he began his studies at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. In 1885, he moved to Moscow, where he became a piano pupil of Nikolai Sergeyevich Zverev. Tchaikovsky, Arensky, Siloti, Taneyev, Safonov, and Rubinstein were not merely illustrious names to him, but living personalities whom he knew as friends, acquaintances, and teachers. At the Moscow Conservatory, he completed both piano studies in 1891 and composition studies in 1892. The launch of the young composer’s career was disrupted by a disastrous performance of his First Symphony in St Petersburg in the spring of 1897, which was met with highly negative reviews. Rachmaninoff struggled to recover from the experience. It was not until he sought help from Nikolai Dahl, a Moscow neurologist, psychiatrist, and hypnotist, that he was able to overcome his crisis. With Dahl’s help, Rachmaninoff regained his desire to compose. His breakthrough came with the success of his Second Piano Concerto (1900–1901), followed by invitations for concert tours and engagements at Moscow’s Great Hall and in Dresden.

Rachmaninoff composed his Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 (1909), while at the height of his creative powers and with a tour of the United States in mind. He brought with him one of the most technically demanding piano concertos in the entire classical repertoire, and he was fully aware of the challenge it presented. Following the premiere in New York on 28 November 1909, Rachmaninoff returned to the piano on 16 January 1910 to perform the concerto once again with the New York Symphony Society, this time under the baton of Gustav Mahler. His late-Romantic, virtuosic work, formally and expressively refined, would go on to become renowned for its lyrical melodies, rich harmonies, rhythmic inventiveness, and the exceptional demands it places on coordination between soloist and orchestra. The work, sometimes called “Rach Three”, was dedicated to Józef Hofmann, a pianist of Polish origin, although Hofmann never performed it in public. The first movement (Allegro ma non tanto) is in sonata form and offers a choice of cadenzas: a technically dazzling version, usually referred to as the “ossia,” and a lighter, toccata-like version. The second movement (Intermezzo. Adagio), structured as variations, makes a smooth transition to the Finale (Alla breve), again composed in sonata form with motivic connections to the opening movement. From beginning to end, the soloist never really gets to relax, whether technically or emotionally.

Described by The Times as the “master of all he surveys” and with The Washington Post noting to “keep your ear on this one”, Uzbek pianist Behzod Abduraimov’s captivating performances continue to receive international praise. At just 18 years of age, he won the prestigious London International Piano Competition and has since performed with leading orchestras around the world (the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bamberg and Vienna Symphony Orchestras, and others). In recent seasons, he has also collaborated with many prominent conductors, including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Manfred Honeck, Vasily Petrenko, Constantinos Carydis, Edward Gardner, Long Yu, Juraj Valčuha, and others. In the fall of 2022, he performed with the Czech Philharmonic and Semyon Bychkov in Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini – he even recorded this piece in 2020 on the composer’s own piano from Villa Senar in Switzerland for Sony Classical.

The 2025/2026 season, Behzod Abduraimov made a number of notable debuts, including with the New York Philharmonic and the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., in both cases under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda. Other concert appearances included the Houston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and Hong Kong Philharmonic. In terms of recitals, the highlight of the season were his fourth appearance at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium (he made his debut there in 2015), a return to Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, and other performances in the United States and Europe. In the past, he has performed in many prestigious international recital series organized by the Alte Oper Frankfurt, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, La Società dei Concerti di Milano, and Toppan Hall in Tokyo. He also regularly performs at leading international festivals, including Aspen, La Roque Antheron, Lucerne, Ravello, Rheingau, and Verbier. In September 2025, he opened the Georgian Tsinandali Festival with Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. 

Abduraimov’s recordings are highly acclaimed – his 2012 debut recital CD featuring works by Liszt, Saint-Saëns, and Prokofiev won the prestigious French Choc de Classica and Diapason Découverte awards. He also pays special attention to promoting Uzbek music – on his latest album, Shadows of My Ancestors, released in 2024, he presented, among other things, the work of Uzbek composer Dilorom Saidaminova.

Born in Tashkent in 1990 Behzod began to play the piano at the age of five. He was a pupil of Tamara Popovich at the Uspensky State Central Lyceum in Tashkent and studied with Stanislav Ioudenitch at the International Center for Music at Park University, Kansas City, where he is now Artist in Residence and passes on his experience to younger generations of pianists.

In 2018 Bychkovʼs tenure as Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Czech Philharmonic was initiated with concerts in Prague, London, New York, and Washington celebrating the 100th anniversary of Czechoslovak independence. 2019 marked the culmination of The Tchaikovsky Project: concerts, residencies and recordings of Tchaikovskyʼs symphonies. For 2024ʼs Year of Czech Music, in addition to recordings of Smetanaʼs Má vlast – voted by BBC Music Magazine as Orchestral Recording of the Year 2025 – and Dvořákʼs Symphonies 7, 8 and 9, Czech music was at the centre of extensive European tours as well as concerts in the US, including three concerts at Carnegie Hall. Earlier this season, Bychkov toured with the Orchestra to Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Austria, Italy, Germany and Luxembourg. In April 2026, PENTATONE released the box set of Mahler symphonies recorded with the Orchestra since 2018.

In the 2026/2027 season, Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic return to repertoire that has accompanied him since the beginning of his career. Alongside Czech music, he will focus above all on the works of Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Modest Mussorgsky. The programmes of the 131st season thus connect the music of his native country with the Czech tradition at the centre of his work in Prague.

He is a frequent guest with the leading international orchestras and opera companies and has recorded extensively including with the Berlin Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio, Concertgebouworkest, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic and Orchestre de Paris. Benchmark recordings with WDR Cologne include the four Brahms Symphonies, in addition to works by Strauss, Mahler, Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff, Verdi, Glanert and Höller. His 1992 recording of Tchaikovskyʼs Eugene Onegin was the recommended recording for BBC Radio 3ʼs Building a Library (2020); Wagnerʼs Lohengrin was BBC Music Magazineʼs Record of the Year (2010); and Schmidtʼs Symphony No. 2 with the Vienna Philharmonic was BBC Music Magazineʼs Record of the Month (2018).

In common with the Czech Philharmonic, Bychkov has one foot firmly in the culture of the East and the other in the West. Born in St Petersburg in 1952, he emigrated to the United States in 1975 and is now based in Europe. In 1989 Bychkov returned to the former Soviet Union as Principal Guest Conductor of the St Petersburg Philharmonic and, the same year, was named Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris. In 1997, he was appointed Chief Conductor of the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, and in 1998, Chief Conductor of the Dresden Semperoper. In summer 2025, Bychkov returned to Bayreuth to conduct Wagnerʼs Tristan und Isolde, and conducted the premiere of a new production of Tchaikovskyʼs Eugene Onegin at the Paris Opera in January 2026. In the 2026/2027 season he also returns to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London.

Bychkov was named ‘Conductor of the Yearʼ by the International Opera Awards (2015) and, by Musical America (2022). He holds honorary titles with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Academy of Music. From 1 August 2026, Bychkov is Music Director Designate of the Paris Opera, assuming the title of Music Director in 2028.