Aleksandra Orbeck Nilssen

On her GENUIN debut release, splendid Polish pianist Aleksandra Mikulska presents Franz Liszt’s reminiscences of the great loves of his life: they include both people and places as well as his own works that had grown dear to him. With broad musical lines and a wonderfully sensuous tone, the Special Prize-winner at the 15th International Frédéric Chopin Competition breathes new life into some of the most beautiful works of the repertoire: the Liebestraum and Hungarian Rhapsody, the Jota and the celebrated Frühlingslied, an arrangement of the song by Robert Schumann—a true delight for piano lovers!

Aleksandra Mikulska is not only a prizewinner of major competitions such as the Chopin Competition but also President of the Chopin Society.

The three works of Stefano Gervasoni on this release contain, as the composer himself explains, “significant links, both explicit and subterranean” with other pieces of his, and they all explore “themes relating to the environment”. Concretely, how can such ideas be revealed in a musical context? These ecological preoccupations manifest clearly in the titles of the works (Yesterday’s Meadow, Weed/Quackgrass, Obedient Cloud).