Unconditional commitment to music and the abolishment of musical boundaries are two aspects Paul Gulda has in common with his father. Friedrich Gulda’s son is a crossover talent: not only a pianist, but also a composer, conductor, and teacher. Paul collaborates with jazz musicians and artists from different cultures, writes incidental music for the theatre, and loves to improvise. For his second appearance at the Ruhr Piano Festival, Paul Gulda will be presenting a time-machine voyage through the centuries, starting with a selection of pieces from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book (the largest collection of keyboard music from the Elizabethan and Jacobean era), as well as from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. The evening’s theme is light as a symbol for becoming and evanescence – aspects which are present in Goethe’s poem Selige Sehnsucht (set to music by Friedrich Gulda), in Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, and in Scriabin’s emotionally agitated Vers la flamme. Friedrich Gulda’s variations on The Doors’ unforgettable rock classic “Light My Fire” will conclude Paul Gulda’s musical itinerary brimming with musical associations and reminiscences.