“Despite suffering from a fever, Arcadi Volodos played with inimitable litheness, and there was an fervent applause for last-minute substitute Aidan Mikdad.”
– Herman Rosenberg in Den Haag Centraal.

The World Master Pianists team looks back on a memorable opening concert on 13 November at Amare in The Hague. Apart from being the launching of World Master Pianists, the concert was also a tribute to Prof. Casper van Eijck, whose Foundation is dedicated to improving the prospects of pancreatic cancer patients.

Due to illness, it remained uncertain until the last minute whether Arcadi Volodos would be able to participate in the concert. But he did play! The only 20-year-old Dutch super talent Aidan Mikdad then played, after the interval, with Volodos’ approval, a beautiful selection of compositions by Alexander Scriabin. His encore, Scriabin’s Nocturne for the Left Hand Alone, op. 9 No. 2, received an ovational applause.

World Master Pianists thanks the audience who joined us in experiencing the start of this new musical adventure. World Master Pianists thanks the audience who joined us in experiencing the start of this new musical adventure. We look forward to seeing you again, in good health, next spring at the recital by Maria João Pires (April 5) and/or Evgeny Kissin (June 28) and wish you a happy month of December.

Photography Mirjam Lems