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In 2020, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 3 is bringing together musical greats, from the past and the present, in one extraordinary Proms season. Radio 3 is broadcasting the best of four decades of unmissable Proms concerts.

Martin Handley introduces this 1997 recital – the first ever solo piano recital at the Proms – showcases the Russian phenomenon Evgeny Kissin in only his second Proms performance. At 26, his performances and recordings had already brought him the kind of attention reserved for the starriest virtuosos – such as Chopin and Liszt themselves, whose music he plays here alongside Haydn’s noble Sonata No 52.

Liszt’s fiendishly difficult Hungarian Rhapsody No 12 is the jewel in centre of this mammoth recital. With eight distinctive melodies, it is the most thematically rich of the 19 Rhapsodies – as well as one of the most popular. Closing the performance is the last of Chopin’s three piano sonatas.

Haydn: Sonata No 52 in E flat
Liszt: Liebesträum No 3 in A flat
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No 12 in C sharp minor
Chopin: Nocturnes Ops 27 Nos 1 & 2
Chopin: Piano Sonata No 3 in B minor

Evgeny Kissin (piano)
(From the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Proms, 10 August 1997)