Prokofiev, the temperamental St Petersburg firebrand, and Schubert, the quiet revolutionary from Vienna – an intelligent and exciting combination. The pianist Elisso Bolkvadze, a UNESCO Artist for Peace and a superstar in her native Georgia, presents Prokofiev’s Second Piano Sonata and Schubert’s Impromptus D899 in glowing and lyrical interpretations.

With nine completed sonatas, Prokofiev created a musical cosmos similar in range to Shostakovich’s string quartets. Elisso Bolkvadze has chosen the Second Sonata (1912), where Prokofiev adopted an incredibly delicate tone but which reflects the modernist spirit of the Russian capital of St Petersburg before the First World War. Bolkvadze juxtaposes this with Schubert’s four Impromptus D899, a popular cycle whose innovation is often underestimated.

Georgian pianist Elisso Bolkvadze was selected as a UNESCO Artist for Peace in January 2015. She has won numerous international piano competitions, including the Van Cliburn, Vianna da Motta and Dublin International Piano Competitions. A superstar in her home country, she was awarded the prestigious national Medal of Honour of the Georgian Government in 1993. In 2013, Elisso Bolkvadze founded her own charitable foundation 'Lyra', which supports talented young Georgian pianists. She is the Artistic Director of the Batumi Music Festival in Georgia.