Bösendorfer Cycle. Derek Hartman

Derek Hartman, Piano

Like no other composer, Ludwig van Beethoven engages with the great themes of humanism in his work: freedom, humanity, and the divine. Therefore, it is not only pianistic skills that are required from an interpreter, whether young or old, but above all an understanding of the emotional depth and the radical inner struggles that Beethoven grappled with in his works. Every four years, young artists from around the world have the opportunity to engage intensively with the pianistic oeuvre of the Bonn master and present their interpretation of the works at the International Beethoven Competition in Vienna. In May 2025, the young American pianist Derek Hartman qualified as an emerging Beethoven interpreter among 300 competitors, not least due to his courage to present a self-composed cadenza for the G major piano concerto in the final of the competition at the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein, accompanied by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. We are pleased to introduce Derek Hartman as a new Bösendorfer artist in this portrait concert. The young pianist will interpret Bach's Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp major BWV 848, Beethoven's Sonata in F-sharp major op. 78 (à Thérèse), Gaspard de la nuit by Maurice Ravel, Samuel Barber's Ballade op. 46, and Brahms' Sonata No. 4 in F minor.