Behzod Abduraimov, Piano

“Behzod Abdu-who?” quipped National Public Radio last year. “Not for long.”  As rewarding as it is to bring you the world’s most renowned musicians, there’s special joy in introducing a little-known young artist poised to join the ranks of the all-time greats.  Behzod Abduraimov, a 23-year-old native of Uzbekistan, is such a talent.  “Rip-roaringly exciting” and “a gift from God” are among the breathless reviews he’s elicited, as well as this from the International Record Review: “He has the neuro-motor responses of a jungle cat and the energy reserves of an Olympic athlete on peak form.” After achieving a sensational victory in the 2009 London International Piano Competition, winning first prize with a thrilling performance of Prokofiev’s Third Concerto, the young phenom toured with the Sydney Symphony under Vladimir Ashkenazy, a great pianist in his own right. Abduraimov’s electrifying version of Saint-Saens’s Dance Macabre is that of an artist possessed — and sporting a rather sly grin.