Evgeny Kissin: The Gift of Music

The rise to fame of young Russian pianist Evgeny Kissin has seldom been equalled in the classical music world. Celebrated film-maker Christopher Nupen's film shows Kissin in preparation, interview, rehearsal and in several dazzling performances shot live on stage, in true concert conditions, where this artist is undoubtedly at his best. It contains footage from Kissin's memorable BBC Proms concert at the Royal Albert Hall in 1997, the first solo recital in the history of the Proms. It also includes sequences with Kissin's mentor from the age of six, Anna Pavlona Kantor, who has become like a member of his family, and remains a guiding friend to this day. Music is by Liszt, Gluck, Haydn, Beethoven, Kissin, Schubert and Chopin, the composer for whom Kissin feels the closest affinity.