On Saturday, 5^th September, on stage at the Romanian Athenaeum, the American pianist Murray Perahia delighted us with scores by Haydn, Brahms and Beethoven, in a recital that was highly admired by the audience due to the alternance between various musical compositions that have long been acknowledged as famous, but also due to his great devotion that reaches self-forgetfulness. This pianist, who was born in New York, in 1947, gained the title of Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire on behalf of Queen Elisabeth the Second in 2004. He also won the Grammy Award on many occasions, the Arrau Medal and the Royal Academy of Music Bach Prize in 2012.

The recital started with Sonata No.31 by Joseph Haydn, which was performed passionately, but we could also notice that the combinations involved by the classical piano technique were skilfully highlighted. The Variations in F minor by the same author were next, followed a series of highly expressive Brahmsian scores, including the remarkable Intermezzo Op.118 No.2 in A major. Murray Perahia's last performance at the 'George Enescu' International Festival in 2015 was Sonata No.29 in B-flat major Op.106 'Hammerklavier' by Ludwig van Beethoven, which is 'the longest piano monologue' that the author left behind. Murray Perahia's performance of this work resembled a flight that took us from the lower depths to the most astounding heights.