Ernst Krenek Piano Sonatas Nos. 1, 3 And 5 (madge)

Boris Giltburg has set out to learn and film all 32 piano sonatas by Beethoven by the end of 2020. The project started as a personal exploration, driven by curiosity and his strong love of the Beethoven sonatas, and the recordings presented in this initial volume display Giltburg’s customary spirit, technical finesse and convey the electric atmosphere of the live recording.

Nowadays there are a great many people who, upon encountering the name Rubinstein, would only think automatically of the Polish pianist, the late Artur Rubinstein. However, our subject (no relation) is the once world-renowned Russian composer and pianist Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein who was born in Balta Podalia (Ukraine) on 28 November 1829. He died in Peterhof on 20 November 1894. In his lifetime, Anton Rubinstein was highly regarded as a pianist, as a conductor, as the first great Russian teacher whose methods and administration are still echoed in the modern Russian musical institutions, and as a prolific composer.

Avie introduces the brilliant young Romanian pianist Alexandra Silocea who offers some of her signature repertoire on her debut recording, the first five Piano Sonatas of Prokofiev. Dubbed “Alexandra the Great” by Gramophone who announced her debut recording, the 26-year-old trained in Vienna and Paris, and is now resident in the UK. In 2003, while studying at Vienna University for Music and Performing Arts, she was awarded the Herbert von Karajan Scholarship, the latest in a string of prizes from competitions throughout Europe. Alexandra made her professional debut in 2008 with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. Recital debuts followed in 2009 at the Musikverein in Vienna, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in New York, and le Salon de Musique in Paris.

Boris Giltburg has set out to study and film all of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas by the end of 2020. The project started as a personal exploration, driven by curiosity and his strong love of the Beethoven sonatas. These performances display Giltburg’s customary spirit and technical finesse, and also convey the electric atmosphere of the live recording.