March 18, 2026 | Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory
Soloist – Angel Stanislav Wang, piano
Conductor – Ivan Nikiforchin
Prokofiev. Concerto No. 3 for piano and orchestra in C major, Op. 26
Prokofiev. Two suites from ballet "Romeo and Juliet"
In 2026 there will be 135 years since the birthday of the great Soviet composer Sergei Prokofiev who created masterpieces almost in all main music genres from piano miniatures to operas and ballets. Being an outstanding pianist himself, he wrote, for instance, five virtuoso Concertos that are now an indelible part of the world piano repertoire. The current program dedicated to Prokofiev’s 135th anniversary will feature his Third Piano Concerto and two Suites from the «Romeo and Juliet» ballet played by the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia under the baton of Ivan Nikiforchin.
Piano Concerto no. 3 is one of the most popular and brilliant opuses by Prokofiev. Clear and polished in its structure, the Concerto is quintessential for Prokofiev’s earlier style with his typical collision of ideas but with a clear dominance of irony over contrasts and, the more so, over conflicts. The composer prepared before its premiere a thorough commentary, which described in detail all principal musical events of each movement: the Sonata-Allegro, the theme in the courteous Gavotte (in a quasi-sentimental manner) with five variations, and the Finale with sparkling Coda reminding of festive finales of Russian classics.
The soloist in the Concerto will be Angel Wang, the winner of the latest edition of the Sergei Rachmaninoff Competition in Moscow, the Spain Composers Competition in Madrid and Premio Jaen in Jaen (Spain), a silver medal winner at the 17th edition of the P.I. Tchaikovsky International Competition, well known for his spotless technique and precise stylish interpretations.
The «Romeo and Juliet» ballet was the first theatrical work by Prokofiev after his return to the USSR. At the first hearing in The Bolshoi the ballet music was dismissed as not suitable for dancing and incomprehensible in general (only in 1938 the triumphal performance in Brno defined the further fate of the work). Fearing that the score would further be neglected in theaters, the composer concocted two Suites based on the brightest and important fragments of the ballet. Nowadays Prokofiev’s music finds its place both in theaters and in concert halls as a musical evidence of the past eras and the quintessence of the composer’s inimitable style.