Sergei Strelec

French pianist Jonathan Fournelm, 27, has won this year’s Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition. Second Prize was awarded to Rusian pianist Sergei Redkin and third Prize to Keigo Mukawa (Japan).

“Sergei Nakariakov plays the trumpet the way the rest of us breathe – if we are lucky.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

This 10-CD set wowed audiences when it first appeared in 1992, and with good reason – although music scholars and classical record collectors were well aware of it, the general classical audience of the late twentieth century likely had no inkling of how extensively Rachmaninov had recorded and otherwise preserved aspects of his playing and performances (in addition to his actual recordings, there were also the piano rolls that he did for the American Piano Company, which are a matter separate from this collection, and transcribed and released by Decca/London Records on CD).

Rather than play any single complete suite (of the three) that Prokofiev extracted from the complete ballet, Myung-Whun Chung makes his own selection of numbers, roughly following the plot line and including music representative of all the major characters. Although some other collections offer more music, this hour of Romeo and Juliet makes a satisfying presentation on its own. What makes the performance special is the spectacular playing of the Dutch orchestra. Frankly, it's never been done better. From the whiplash virtuosity of the violins to the bite of the trombones and the firm thud of the bass drum, this is the sound the composer must have dreamed of.

REFERENCE RECORDINGS® is proud to present pianist, composer, and producer Sergei Kvitko’s new album, Schubert by Candlelight — Live in Madrid, a stunning collection of Schubert’s piano works. The album features thirteen piano works that showcase the beauty and depth of Schubert’s music, as well as the artistry and versatility of Kvitko, who is not only an award­-winning, critically acclaimed pianist, but also a composer, arranger, and internationally sought­-after producer and sound engineer. The album was recorded at Hinves Pianos, Madrid, Spain on April 7, 2022. It was performed, produced, and engineered by Sergei Kvitko, assisted at the session by audio engineer Jorge Núñez Colell.