The musical repertoire of the 63rd “Ohrid Summer” continues tonight at 9 o’clock in the church of “St. Sophia” with a concert by the Ukrainian Alexei Botvinov, an exceptional pianist, musical innovator, and producer. He is one of the most significant Ukrainian pianists and is considered one of the finest interpreters of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s music. Botvinov is also the only pianist in the world to have performed Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” on stage more than 300 times.
Alexei Botvinov has performed in more than 46 countries around the world, and his recent performances include concerts in venues such as the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Tonhalle in Zurich, the Philharmonic Hall in Hamburg, Beethoven House in Bonn, and many others.
In November 2015, Botvinov was honored as a People’s Artist of Ukraine – the highest artistic recognition in Ukraine. In the same year, he founded the International Festival “Odessa Classics,” of which he is the president and artistic director. Since its inception, the festival has achieved sensational success and has become one of the most significant festivals in Ukraine and a leading festival in Europe.
In 2020, Alexei Botvinov was awarded the “Order of the Star of Italy” by the decision of the President of Italy. During the same year, he also received the “William Tell Award” presented by the Swiss government.
In 2021, Botvinov began a collaboration with violinist Daniel Hope, with whom he recorded a CD for the production company “Deutsche Grammophon,” featuring music by Alfred Schnittke. After the success of this release, the two artists collaborated again in 2022 to record a CD for charitable purposes titled “Music for Ukraine.” Later in the same year, they recorded an edition dedicated to the music of Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov. Botvinov’s latest recorded edition, featuring Philip Glass’s Third Concerto and the Double Concerto by composer Tan Dun, is set to be promoted this summer.