BACHathon for Ukraine

On Saturday, June 4th at 8:00 P.M. until Sunday morning, June 5th at 8:00 A.M., a 12-hour Bach marathon concert, a 'BACHATHON FOR UKRAINE', will take place in the Golden Hall of the Szczecin Philharmonic. This event will be free and open to the public. It will also be livestreamed on YouTube and promoted by international partners in Europe, the United States and Australia.

The focal point of this event will be on an exceptional endurance requiring performance of Books 1 & 2 of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, played in succession, taking over 4 hours and 30 minutes, performed by one artist, the acclaimed Austrian pianist Aaron Pilsan. In addition to this artist, the event is proud to include the most well-known Ukrainian pianist before the public today, Alexei Grynyuk, who will open the event playing two works by Bach. This event will include several musical surprises, videos and interviews with the artists and others. Welcome!

During the entire marathon concert, the building of the Szczecin Philharmonic will be illuminated in the colours of the Ukraine.

The director of the Szczecin Philharmonic, Dorota Serwa, said: “This type of event is fitting for the times that we are living in, when music and our great concert hall can be used not only for entertainment, but also for influencing our world and helping others in need. I hope our community will rise to the occasion and will join us in solidarity through music.”

This event will have partners in many different countries, who will be promoting the live streaming of the concert, but also joining forces with local charities in their countries to aid the people affected by the war in the Ukraine. All partners will be announced during the concert on June 4th and 5th.

ALEXEI GRYNYUK

Ukrainian pianist Alexei Grynyuk performs throughout the world appearing in the most prestigious concert halls and music festivals. His musical development was shaped by his studies at the Kiev Conservatory under Natalia Gridneva and Valery Kozlov. He refined his studies with Hamish Milne at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Later he was awarded an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) and served as a jury member at the Benjamin Britten International Violin Competition in London and the prestigious “Vendome Prize” International Piano Competition.

Being a passionate chamber musician, Alexei Grynyuk is part of a piano trio with his regular partners violinist Nicola Benedetti and cellist Leonard Elschenbroich, described by The Telegraph as “A trio of True Stars”.

For more information: grynyuk.com

AARON PILSAN

Already at 27 years old, Austrian pianist Aaron Pilsan has made a name for himself on the international music scene, having received numerous awards and having already performed in some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Wigmore Hall in London and Vienna’s Konzerthaus. Selected by the influential German magazine Fono Forum as "Best Young Artist of the Year" in 2011, he was subsequently chosen as a "Rising Star" for the European Concert Hall Organization (ECHO) in 2014 which resulted in invitations to perform in many of Europe's most prestigious concert halls. Aaron Pilsan often performs with cellist Kian Soltani and together they have made recordings for Deutsche Grammophon. In order to be in constant exchange with his audience and help young artists, he created the Pilsan Academy, through which he mentors amateur and future pianists.

Recently he has gained much praise for his recording of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 that was selected by Gramophone Magazine as one of the best recordings of 2021. He has performed the Well-Tempered Clavier in such renowned venues as Vienna’s Konzerthaus and at the Festival Bach in Montréal, Canada.

Aaron Pilsan has studied with among others, Prof. Karl-Heinz Kämmerling and Lars Vogt in Hannover and has been regularly mentored by Sir András Schiff, Maria João Pires and Daniel Barenboim. A pianist with a wide repertoire, he is also committed to mentoring other young pianists, through a mentorship programme that he has developed.

Aaron Pilsan is a strong believer in the power of music for change in our lives and in our world and is committed to realising this Bach Marathon for the Ukraine as his contribution to bringing his talents to the service of others in need. In connection with this he said, “No other composer than Bach is better suited to this mission and no piece of music is more appropriate for this marathon than the Well-Tempered Clavier, as it represents peace and harmony, within a logical structure and the fact that it uses all of the tonalities is like a mosaic of the different people and cultures that make up our world, but here, they all work together, with one tonality seamlessly leading into the next, all in perfect balance. Exactly what our world needs today!"

For more information: aaronpilsan.com

THE SZCZECIN PHILHARMONIC CONCERT HALL

Officially known as the Mieczysław Karłowicz Philharmonic, the hall is one of Europe’s most remarkable and is an architectural attraction in itself. In 2015 it was awarded the European Prize for Contemporary Architecture, as the finest architectural creation realised in Europe in the previous year. The hall has had a tremendous impact on the cultural life of Szczecin, Poland’s seventh largest city and due to its close proximity to Berlin, it now draws an audience from Germany as well.

For a virtual tour of the Szczecin Philharmonic: spacer.filharmonia.szczecin.pl/en