Ever since her German début at the Ruhr Piano Festival in 2009, Khatia Buniatishvili has been thrilling audiences in the Rhine and Ruhr regions. The highly talented pianist is technically capable of taking on any challenge with verve and nonchalance: this will be her 14th performance at the Festival. Buniatishvili shares a true passion for chamber music with her mentor Martha Argerich, the Grande Dame of piano art. With a select group of musical partners, Buniatishvili will be performing César Franck’s highly emotional Piano Quintet, one of the French composer’s most popular works. Buniatishvili once affirmed that her Georgian roots are responsible for her energetic temperament, but also for her dreamy character. And that is exactly what she wants to express and share through her performances: music as an inspiration to dream, as an enrichment of life. The immense variety of timbres in French music from a period straddling tradition and Impressionism will surely provide an ideal terrain for her to achieve such goals.