Alexey Botvinov
Pianist, founder of Odessa Classics
«…on his way from Kyiv, he saw scenes of immense human suffering, and a melody was born within him. Valentin wanted to play it. It was pure improvisation; no one expected it. The entire hall anticipated tragic music of sorrow and grief. But Valentin sat at the piano and played a melody of incredible beauty, light, and harmony. It was a complete shock — the contrast of such otherworldly, angelic music with the horrors of war that inspired it. This is Silvestrov — paradoxical genius…»
There are people for whom life and music are synonymous. Sebastian Knauer sat down at the piano at the age of 5. And almost immediately, he was recognized as a prodigy