Boris Giltburg

In 2020, pianist Boris Giltburg, whose "originality stems from a convergence of heart and mind..." (Gramophone), launched a project to record and film all 32 of Beethoven's piano sonatas with a fresh eye, yielding new connections and nuances to each of the works. At Duke, he'll perform two of the late sonatas, the No. 30 in E Major, known for its intimacy and daring departures from traditional musical forms (the first two movements are played without pause, for example) and the No. 32 in C minor, Beethoven's final and perhaps finest sonata. At only two movements, the works stands as a testament to the romantic era, with passionate free passages giving way to more structured melodies and themes. The concert and indeed the series closes as Giltburg performs Rachmaninoff's Preludes, Op. 32, in their majestic entirety.