Franz Schubert Kian Soltani

You can tell a great deal about performance quality from one crucial consideration: timing. In the context of Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata as played by Kian Soltani and Aaron Pilsan, it’s in the first movement. Listen to 2'58", an arpeggio piano chord at the close of the exposition, then the pause before the repeated opening – sheer perfection. No one on disc judges it better. The overriding impression is of a watertight musical partnership, one’s attention divided equally between cellist and pianist.

In the Pierre Boulez Saal Opening Concert, Daniel Barenboim, the Boulez Ensemble and renowned soloists are celebrating the idea of what this new concert hall of the Barenboim Said-Academy in Berlin stands for: to create a space where beloved classics, modern masterworks of the early 20th century, and music of our time can be heard side by side and inspire audiences and performers alike.