Behzod Abduraimov, piano

Commanding Uzbek pianist Behzod Abduraimov is best known as a powerhouse soloist with the world’s great orchestras, but his recital appearances harness all the same musical force and beauty on a more intimate scale. His eclectic Cal Performances debut program foregrounds story and image, including Prokofiev’s piano adaptation of music from his ballet Romeo and Juliet, and Uzbek composer Dilorom Saidaminova’s 1973 programmatic opus The Walls of Ancient Bukhara (in what is likely its first West Coast performance). Florence Price’s Fantasie nègre No. 1, a rarely performed gem enjoying newfound popularity thanks to revived interest in Price’s body of work, showcases Black American folk melodies and idioms. “[Abduraimov] coaxed sound of gossamer beauty from the keys and created shimmering halos around the notes” (The Times, London).