Liszt "cziffra"

A native of Ukraine, pianist Sophia Agranovich continues her superb series of recordings for Centaur Records. Internationally acclaimed soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and educator, Sophia Agranovich is “a bold, daring pianist in the tradition of the Golden Age Romantics…A tigress of the keyboard” – Fanfare. Her performances are captivating audiences by the “orison of uncommon beauty” – Audiophile, “interpretation that dares to be different”, “magnificent shading and superior musicianship” – American Record Guide. A Steinway Artist, Ms. Agranovich has performed in USA, Europe, Israel, and Canada. Recently she played solo recitals at the Pennautier Festival and Juan-les-Pins in France and was invited to China and Brazil. A six-time Grammy® balloted artist, Sophia Agranovich has released ten solo albums from 2010 through 2022, including seven on Centaur label.

‘Samson de la nuit’ was the affectionate epithet given to this pianist who seemed never to sleep and who was almost as famous for spending his early morning hours in Parisian jazz clubs as he was for playing Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit. Like the Biblical Samson, Samson François wore his hair long – it often hung in front of his eyes as he played – and like the character Scarbo in Gaspard, he could be mischievous and evasive. A man of contrasts, he was in many ways the epitome of what one thought a romantic pianist should be – confident, dashing, poetic, moody, passionate, tender and temperamental. Today, more than 40 years after his premature death, a new generation of listeners has come to appreciate the qualities that made him one of the great pianists of the 20th century.

Alim Beisembayev, winner of the 2021 Leeds International Piano Competition, makes his album debut on Warner Classics with solo works by Liszt, including seven of the ambitious Études d'exécution transcendante. Born in Kazakhstan and trained primarily in the UK, Beisembayev has been praised by leading critics for the spellbinding polish and maturity of his playing. “The Transcendental Études of Liszt are amongst the most challenging piano works ever written by any composer,” he says. “Frequently described as tone poems, these inspirational works take the étude to a new level … Since early childhood, I had been inspired by performances of these works by legendary pianists such as Cziffra, Richter and Kissin, never dreaming that I would one day be performing them myself…

The collection gathers the best relaxing tunes from the piano repertoire performed by most eminent musicians: Piotr Anderszewski, Leif Ove Andsnes, Daniel Barenboim, Bertrand Chamayou, Aldo Ciccolini, Samson François, Hélène Grimaud, Stephen Kovacevich, Nicolai Lugansky, Maria-João Pires, Maurizio Pollini, Anne Queffélec, Alexandre Tharaud and Alexis Weissenberg.