Kit Armstrong Lands at InClassica with Concert in Collaboration Sergey Smbatyan and the Russian National Orchestra

InClassica 2021 is the biggest and most ambitious music festival to ever take place in the Middle East, welcoming a staggering 37 world-renowned soloists, 7 celebrated orchestras and 12 leading conductors to Dubai for a 30-day celebration of sublime musicianship, world-class performance and international collaboration. InClassica is pleased to present the biggest names in classical music today, featuring performers from Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas, for an unrivalled programme of phenomenal concerts taking place at the Dubai Opera and Coca-Cola Arena. The festival features a range of music from distinguished historical European composers, as well as works from the event’s Composer-in-Residence, Alexey Shor. 

Last night at InClassica

Lyrical Beauty
Dubai Opera 

Like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Kit Armstrong started his career as a child prodigy at a very early age. The young American pianist of British-Taiwanese parentage is a renowned interpreter of Mozart's Sonatas and was acclaimed as Artiste étoile at the Würzburger Mozartfest, in 2016. Thus, he can be considered the perfect interpreter for Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20. Opening the concert with the overture to Joseph Haydn's opera Armida, Sergei Smbatyan concluded the evening with Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances that can be seen as a summary of the composer's life.

Kit Armstrong (piano)
 - What were your thoughts about this evening’s performance? “It’s a wonderful hall. I really enjoyed playing here. Just so impressive to see a place like this exist and function the way that it does.”
 - You were, I believe, very much looking forward to performing Mozart’s ‘Piano Concerto No. 20’. How was the experience of playing the piece ultimately? “I think it’s one of these pieces that never gets old. Every time you play it, it feels new, and especially this time because it was with a new group – the Russian National Orchestra – which really brings a new perspective to this piece. Of course the notes are the same but the interpretation is so different and the way that it resonates with us emotionally is so different and it has been a great pleasure to discover this together with this group.”
 - It was your first time playing with the Russian National Orchestra. How did you feel it went, and did you have enough time to get to know each other? “All the rehearsal time in the world is never enough in the sense that when you get to know each other there’s always so much more that you want to know about the other person, but we were all working towards this concert and I think in the concert we really had the opportunity to show our deepest feelings about this music, and that’s what counts.” 
 - It was also your first time playing in Dubai. What are your thoughts about bringing your music to a new audience? “I think it’s the most important thing and one of the most rewarding things that I can do. I’ve had the chance to be part of this world and experience the great things that are in this great universal literature and to be able to share it with other people I think is the greatest fortune that one could have.”

Sergey Smbatyan
 - "I am always happy to go on stage with the Russian National Orchestra, and at the same time it is a great responsibility to play with such a phenomenal team. This orchestra is able to create a special atmosphere on the stage.”
 - “I already met Kit Armstrong many years ago, he is an amazing soloist.” 
 - “I am grateful to the InClassica festival and its organizers for the opportunity to collaborate with musicians of this level. I am very happy for the audience that is present in the hall, I am sure that they had a great pleasure.”

Quotes From Those in Attendance: 

“Kit Armstrong is such an amazing pianist. His rendition of the Mozart… it was just breathtaking; I was hoping it would never end” - audience member

“Wonderful evening. The programme tonight was really nice and everyone played beautifully. It’s amazing to be able to attend live concerts once again” - audience member

“It was excellent. The orchestra, the hall, the pianists, everything. Huge congratulations to everyone involved because all of us here in the audience, we loved it” - audience member 

Tonight at InClassica*

Pictures at an Exhibition 
Dubai Opera

When Aram Khachaturian premiered his Violin Concerto, in November 1940, he was enjoying enormous professional success and expecting the birth of his son. Khachaturian himself reported that the inspiration to the music, deeply rooted in the tradition of his Armenian homeland, came to him without any effort. As an expression of joy, his Violin Concerto is among his most beloved works. Armenian violinist Sergey Khachatryan and the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra play this composition by one of the most important composers of their native country. Under the baton of Sergey Smbatyan, the orchestra also renders Maurice Ravel's orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky's beloved master-piece Pictures at an exhibition.

• Sergey Khachatryan (violin)
• Sergey Smbatyan
• Armenian State Symphony Orchestra

*Full details (including quotes from performers and attendees) will be available tomorrow. For any enquiries regarding tonight’s performance, please contact us.

Organised by the European Foundation for Support of Culture and SAMIT Event Group, the 2021 Edition of the InClassica International Music Festival is currently underway, with daily concerts taking place until the 26th of September. For more information or to book tickets, please visit the official website at inclassica.com.