Following his profound interpretations of Bach’s Goldberg Variations and Chopin’s Préludes last year, pianist Xi Zhai continues his exceptional concert series in Hamburg. On 13 September 2026, he invites audiences to his fourth guest performance at the Elbphilharmonie. This year’s evening is dedicated to the sonata form in its most radical manifestations.
Joseph Haydn’s final and most significant sonata combines clarity and elegance with a subtle inner tension. Beneath the seemingly balanced surface, one can already sense a quiet urge for expression and change. With Beethoven’s final piano sonata, Op. 111, a different world opens up: the music becomes calmer, more expansive, more concentrated. Time seems to slow down, movement becomes sound – and the famous Arietta leads into an almost meditative sphere. Finally, Franz Liszt’s Sonata in B minor feels like a grand musical narrative. Themes emerge, transform and return in new guises. Power, drama and poetry combine to create a work of extraordinary intensity.
PERFORMERS
Xi Zhai piano
PROGRAM
Joseph Haydn
Sonate f-Moll Hob. XVI:52
Ludwig van Beethoven
Sonata for Piano in C minor, Op. 111
- Interval -
Franz Liszt
Sonata in B minor, S 178
