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"The World of Boris Pasternak" with Pianist Hannah-Elizabeth Teoh
A unique opportunity to hear the only surviving compositions of Boris Pasternak, author of Doctor Zhivago, alongside the music of his world.
Part of the Kettner Concerts in Manchester - 2026 Series
Add to my Calendar 19-03-2026 19:00 19-03-2026 21:00 36 "The World of Boris Pasternak" with Pianist Hannah-Elizabeth Teoh Celebrated as the Nobel Prize awarded author of Doctor Zhivago and one of Russia's most beloved poets, Boris Pasternak's first love was music. Raised amongst the Russian elite, his mother was a renowned concert pianist, and Scriabin and Rachmaninoff were regular household visitors. As a teenager Pasternak was an accomplished pianist with aspirations to become a composer; this concert provides a rare opportunity to hear his only surviving works. In 1945 Boris Pasternak wrote an essay on Chopin who, he contended, “is a realist in just the same sense as Lev Tolstoy.” “Their (Chopin and Bach's) music abounds in details and gives the impression of being a chronicle of their lives.” A great realist, autobiographical, is what Pasternak himself aspired to be in his novel Doctor Zhivago, on which he would begin intensive work a year later. Pasternak's parents were both friends and followers of Leo Tolstoy, and tonight Hannah performs a Waltz attributed to Tolstoy himself. New Zealand born Hannah-Elizabeth Teoh studied at the Royal Academy of Music, the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris and the Royal College of Music, and has won numerous awards including the Harold Samuel Prize, the Florence Murray Award, the Lesley Holland Scholarship and the Ivy Corkill Recital Award. As a concerto soloist she has performed around the world, including a premiere recording of Ross Harris’ Concertina for Piano and Orchestra with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and most recently making her Italian debut with the Master Orchestra in Brescia playing Saint-Saëns’ second piano concerto. Supporting her musical life, Hannah draws inspiration from literature and art and has a Masters in Philosophy from Birkbeck University. International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Manchester DD/MM/YYYYDetails
International Anthony Burgess Foundation
3 Cambridge Street
Manchester
M1 5BY
England
Tickets
Prices: £20 (£10 for Students and Under 30s)
Book Tickets
Programme
Boris Pasternak – Prelude no.2 in G sharp minor
Aleksandr Scriabin – Mazurka in C sharp minor, Op.3 no.6
Aleksandr Scriabin – Prelude in D flat major, Op.11 no.15
Boris Pasternak – Prelude no.1 in E flat minor
Aleksandr Scriabin – Etude in C sharp minor, Op.42 no.5 (1903)
Boris Pasternak – Piano Sonata in B minor
Frédéric Chopin – Fantasy in F minor, Op.49
~ Interval ~
Sergei Rachmaninoff – Waltz in A major from Morceaux de salon, Op.10
Sergei Rachmaninoff – Romance in F minor from Morceaux de salon, Op.10
Leo Tolstoy – Waltz in F major
Aleksandr Scriabin – Piano Sonata no.3, Op.23
Maurice Jarre – Doctor Zhivago: Lara's Theme
Performers
Hannah-Elizabeth Teoh – piano
Programme Note
Celebrated as the Nobel Prize awarded author of Doctor Zhivago and one of Russia's most beloved poets, Boris Pasternak's first love was music. Raised amongst the Russian elite, his mother was a renowned concert pianist, and Scriabin and Rachmaninoff were regular household visitors. As a teenager Pasternak was an accomplished pianist with aspirations to become a composer; this concert provides a rare opportunity to hear his only surviving works.
In 1945 Boris Pasternak wrote an essay on Chopin who, he contended, “is a realist in just the same sense as Lev Tolstoy.” “Their (Chopin and Bach's) music abounds in details and gives the impression of being a chronicle of their lives.” A great realist, autobiographical, is what Pasternak himself aspired to be in his novel Doctor Zhivago, on which he would begin intensive work a year later.
Pasternak's parents were both friends and followers of Leo Tolstoy, and tonight Hannah performs a Waltz attributed to Tolstoy himself.
New Zealand born Hannah-Elizabeth Teoh studied at the Royal Academy of Music, the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris and the Royal College of Music, and has won numerous awards including the Harold Samuel Prize, the Florence Murray Award, the Lesley Holland Scholarship and the Ivy Corkill Recital Award. As a concerto soloist she has performed around the world, including a premiere recording of Ross Harris’ Concertina for Piano and Orchestra with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and most recently making her Italian debut with the Master Orchestra in Brescia playing Saint-Saëns’ second piano concerto. Supporting her musical life, Hannah draws inspiration from literature and art and has a Masters in Philosophy from Birkbeck University.
