Born in Kazakhstan and trained primarily in the UK, Alim Beisembayev rose to prominence in September 2021 when he won First Prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition. As Pianist magazine reported: “His performance had the critics spellbound.” The Guardian judged that “Alim Beisembayev was a worthy winner, with a polish and maturity to his playing that marked him among the quintet of finalists,” while The Arts Desk described his “electrifying, exhilarating” performance of Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini as “one of the most exciting things I’ve witnessed live.” Following up in Summer 2022, the Guardian reviewed an Oxford recital by Beisembayev that included seven of Liszt’s Études d'exécution transcendante; the writer concluded that “This is a pianist with a real future, no doubt.”

Liszt’s complete set of 12 ambitious études – among them such famous pieces as Mazeppa, Feux follets and Harmonies du soir – forms the mainstay of Alim Beisembayev’s debut recital on Warner Classics. Two further pieces by Liszt, the concert étude ‘La leggierezza’ and the third of the sixth Consolations complete the programme.

Now 24 years old, Alim Beisembayev began his piano studies in Kazakhstan before moving to Moscow at the age of 10, where he spent two years at the prestigious Central Music School. This was followed by six years at the Purcell School, which is the UK’s longest-established specialist music school. During his time there Alim Beisembayev won First Prize at the Junior Cliburn International Competition in the USA. His studies continued at the Royal Academy of Music and subsequently the Royal College of Music, both in London. As a concerto soloist he has performed with orchestras including the BBC Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Barcelona Symphony, SWR Symphonieorchester Stuttgart, Moscow State Symphony and Fort Worth Symphony, and he has given recitals at such venues as Wigmore Hall in London and the Chopin Institute in Warsaw. Among the dates on his schedule in the last quarter of 2022 are recitals in four cities in Korea, at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris and, once again, at Wigmore Hall.

“The Transcendental Etudes of Liszt are amongst the most challenging piano works ever written by any composer,” he writes. “In addition to immense technical challenges, they are equally demanding from the artistic and poetic point of view. Frequently described as tone poems, these inspirational works take the Étude to a new level, equalled, at that point, only by those of Chopin.”

He highlights “the extreme emotional range of the music from heavenly beauty to devilish fury,” saying that “Orchestral textures and operatic style can also be recognised throughout the cycle ... Since early childhood, I had been inspired by performances of these works by legendary pianists such as Cziffra, Richter and Kissin, never dreaming that I would one day be performing them myself. Indeed the reputation of Feux Follets as being virtually unplayable and Mazeppa, devilishly difficult, was enough to frighten off many a young pianist. However, like most young pianists, the challenge, for me, was the attraction, and I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to record these pieces.”

This debut album follows the digital release in Autumn 2021 of a programme marking Alim Beisembayev’s victory in the Leeds International Piano Competition and comprising sonatas by Scarlatti, études by Ligeti and two of Ravel’s Miroirs.