Repertoire
The pianist Alexei Botvinov belongs to the elite of world pianism. Botvin is considered to be one of the best performers of Rachmaninov's music in the world. Botvinov - the only pianist of the world, who has performed the complex masterpiece of Bach "Goldberg variations" on the stage more than 300 times.
Alexei Botvinov toured in more than 40 countries of the world. The performances of the solo pianist and leading ensembles in the largest concert halls - the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Wigmore Hall, the Zurich Tonhalle, the Moscow House of Music, in the other best halls of Europe and Asia - enjoy unchanging success from the public and the press. The People's Artist of Ukraine, in the media, is awarded with such epithets as "... a lighthouse for those who are looking for light", or "... the owner of the technique of creating a miracle." Recently, the Italian press wrote about Botvinov's triumph in La Scala from the "Goldberg Variations" as "unsurpassed and re-interpretation" or "white magic behind the piano." Leading European newspapers write about the artist as "... a superstar of the classics" or "... a poet for the piano, which stands out for its special pearl sound".
Burhan Ochal (Turkey - Switzerland) - the leading Oriental world percussionist, born in 1956 in Kirkralel (north-west Turkey)
Ochal started his musical career at 14 years old. In 24 Burhan Ochal moved to Switzerland, where he continued to study.
Very soon, Ochal began to collaborate with jazz star Pierre Favre, a Swiss jazz pianist George Gruntz, a famous pianist Maria Joao Pires, an Australian pianist Peter Waters, and many others.
Burhan Ochal has performed a lot and continues to act as a soloist.
The next stage in his creative life was the meeting with Joe Zawinul, a legendary performer on electronic keyboard instruments, composer and creator of the Weather Report group. With Zavinul Burhan Ochal worked for 10 years.
He created his own 'Istanbul Oriental Ensemble' ', which traveled around the world for 20 years and was recognized as the most serious critic. The team received '' Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik '' - a German equivalent to Grammy.
Burhan Ochal has recorded 2 albums of Turkish music with the orchestra 'Trakya All Stars'. Both discs were nominated for "Best Ethnic Music" in Turkey.
The sculptor collaborated with Sting for many years, and in the early 2000s, the percussionist performed for several years with a Turkish pianist Fazil Sai.
As a soloist, he also performed with a number of symphony orchestras. With the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, he recorded a separate Turkish music disc Concerto Alla Turca (2007).
The scene is in love with the artistic cinema and not so long ago he began to actively shoot in films and TV series.
In 2003, a documentary film "Burhan Öçal & Trakya All Stars: A Musical Homecoming" was shot by a musician who was featured at various international film festivals.
In 2010, together with Alexei Botvinov, Burhan Ochal launched the "Bach Reboot" project. It was a revolutionary attempt to rethink the eternal music of Bach, combining it with the ethno-rhythms of the east and the light special effects. Ochal and Botvin played 20 concerts on the most famous scenes of the world - including Istanbul, Paris, Zurich, Basel, Abu Dhabi, the Montreux Jazz Festival. 6 concerts were also seen by the Ukrainian audience.
In 2017, Ochal and Botvin reunited for a new project.
On January 30, 2017, in the main concert hall of Switzerland - Zurich Tonhalle - at the standing ovations of the sophisticated local audience, the premiere of the new program of musicians - "Reboot-2". In the new project, the artists represent a wide range of European music, which appears in an entirely new, unexpected sound, with an oriental or jazz-colored tint. The cult masterpieces of Bach, Beethoven ("Pathetic Sonata"), Rachmaninov, Prokofiev in a program built on the principle of continuous stimulation of emotions and energy - can not remain indifferent. Particularly worth noting a few works from the cycle of Mussorgsky "Pictures from the exhibition." The medieval European "Castle" turns into an eastern palace from "1001 Nights", "The Ballet of the Unlucked Chickens" and "Conversation with the Dead" - are scary real, and "Baba Yaga" resembles a powerful rock arrangement.
The project of Ochala and Botvinov is very important not only from aesthetic, but also from the philosophical and social point of view. In a world experiencing an era of instability, the gap between the worlds of Christianity and Islam is expanding. The "Restart-2" project at the highest level of reflection shows harmony in a combination of seemingly unbreakable cultural strata. As a result of their interaction, a new cultural reality is born.
