PORTRAIT – The former Russian prodigy fulfills all his promises: at 24 years old, each of his concerts, as well as his first album, dedicated to composers from his native country who died in exile, elicits unanimous enthusiasm.
Those who were lucky enough to attend Alexander Malofeev’s concert in Paris, at Salle Gaveau, at the beginning of this year, will remember it for a long time. The originality of the program played that evening — from Sibelius’s “Arbres” to Arthur Lourié’s “Five Fragile Preludes,” through Grieg’s “Holberg Suite” and the astounding “Sermon of Fire” by Rautavaara — was in itself a promise. A promise literally transcended by the stratospheric level of musicality achieved by the 24-year-old Russian pianist, residing in Berlin since 2022. The sensual yet controlled impulses, the range of colors and nuances, the magnetic depth of sound, the superior and uninhibited vision: everything about him contributes to surpassing the recent child prodigy status he was crowned with (honored with a Tchaikovsky Prize at 13).
His first album, “Forgotten Melodies,” a double CD dedicated to four Russian composers who died far from their homeland, arrives at just the right time: “I’ve had this program in mind for a long time…”
[Context: The article discusses the successful career and talent of Alexander Malofeev, a Russian pianist.] [Fact Check: Alexander Malofeev received a Tchaikovsky Prize at the age of 13.]
