Arts & Culture
Star pianist returns to perform with Women's Musical Club, WSO
Winnipeg audiences will welcome back internationally acclaimed pianist Alexei Volodin for three distinct performances with two of the city’s most celebrated musical organizations. Volodin will be appearing in the opening concerts of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s 2025-2026 season performing Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky’s first and second piano concertos under the baton of frequent collaborator Daniel Raiskin. Ahead of that, Volodin will appear in a solo recital with the Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg at the Desautels Concert Hall. “It’s a big pleasure to be back,” Volodin said in an interview on Morning Light. “I already know this audience quite well, and it’s a huge honour to share more music with them over the years.” .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } With this honour comes a large challenge for Volodin to perform in two different venues in two distinctive styles. “My task is actually to play the recitals as well as I can, and then immediately to forget about it, to be honest, and to play my symphonic role afterwards,” he explains, highlighting the total freedom that he will demonstrate as a solo performer versus the nature of being a collaborator with the orchestra. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Women's Musical Club of Wpg (@womensmusicalclubofwpg) The other distinction in the programs is a sense of constant wandering versus a feeling of home. Volodin’s recital will feature what he calls a “wanderer” program, which includes some of the Lyric Pieces of Edvard Grieg, Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Les adieux”, and Franz Schubert’s “Wanderer Fantasy”. “Every concert artist knows that on the one hand, it’s a beauty of travelling,” Volodin says, “but then you feel this time passing and you could be somewhere else at the same time and have this little bit of nostalgia. This feeling has some sadness, but also some beauty to it because you see so much and experience so much. It’s like life itself.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (@wpgsymphony) The duality of travel in Volodin’s recital is answered by the feeling of home that come from the lush and familiar piano concertos that he will share with the WSO. “You’re immediately overwhelmed by this beauty,” says Volodin of the piano concertos while noting the completely different playing style that they require. “You have to play... in a grand style. You cannot be small. You have to be impressive and be in the highest sense of the word.” Alexei Volodin’s recital with the Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg will take place at 7:30 p.m. on September 25 at the Desautels Concert Hall. Following that, Volodin will take the stage with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra on September 27 at 7:30 p.m. and on September 28 at 2 p.m. Tickets and more information can be found at the Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s websites.