Pallavi Mahidhara: Mussorgsky, Ravel, Esmail, Vaka

5 PM Doors & Pre-Reception
6 PM Performance
8 PM Post-Reception

Pallavi Mahidhara: Mussorgsky, Ravel, Esmail, Vaka

Gotham Arts in collaboration with Groupmuse is delighted to present an intimate private solo recital by pianist Pallavi Mahidhara featuring Mussorgsky's celebrated Pictures at an Exhibition, Ravel's suite Miroirs, and works by contemporary composers Reena Esmail and Veronique Vaka.

Wine will be served.

Program

REENA ESMAIL (b. 1983) Rang de Basant

RAVEL Miroirs
1. Noctuelles
2. Oiseaux tristes
3. Une barque sur l’océan
4. Alborada del gracioso
5. La vallée des cloches

Intermission

VERONIQUE VAKA (b. 1986) Boreas (composed for Pallavi Mahidhara)
1. Upp á nátthimin demantskaldan (Up in the Diamond Cold Night Sky)
2. Rafmagnsgrænum bjarma norðurljósa (The Electric Green Glow of the Northern Light)
3. Hjartsláttur sólarrysstraumanna (The Heartbeat of the Solar Radiation Stream)

MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition
Promenade
1. Gnomus
Promenade
2. Il vecchio castello
Promenade
3. Tuileries
4. Bydło
Promenade
5. Ballet of Unhatched Chicks
6. "Samuel" Goldenberg and "Schumuÿle"
Promenade
7. Limoges. Le marché
8. Catacombae (Sepulcrum romanum) / Cum mortuis in lingua mortus
9. The Hut on Hen's Legs (Baba Yaga)
10. The Great Gate of Kiev

About the Artist

Watch Pallavi perform Debussy's "Suite bergamasque"

About Pallavi Mahidhara

Indian-American pianist Pallavi Mahidhara made her orchestral debut at the age of 10, performing at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago. She is the Second Prize winner and Young Audience Award winner of the 69th Geneva International Piano Competition, and of the VI International Prokofiev Competition in Saint Petersburg, Russia. She has appeared in solo and orchestral concerts across five continents, and has performed at important festivals such as the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Marlboro Music and Verbier Festival. Her newest album featuring all female composers from the Romantic era, recorded with violinist Rachel Kolly, will be released in June 2026 on Indesens Label.

Pallavi is the Executive Producer, Writer, and Host of The Conscious Artist®, a podcast about Mental Health Awareness in the performing arts. Aside from her private studio, she is regularly invited to give masterclasses and workshops at Universities and Summer Programs.

Pallavi holds degrees from The Curtis Institute of Music and Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler, and studied with Dimitri Bashkirov at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía. As the first female Indian pianist to attend these institutions and host a podcast on mental health in Western classical music, she fervently embraces her role as cultural ambassador, artist, and mentor. Pallavi is a Steinway Artist.

What's the music?

Pallavi Mahidhara Piano