Rachmaninov Chopin

"Rhythmic firmness was combined with freedom in the declamation of his melodies…" These words describing Frédéric Chopin's piano-playing by his close friend, the German pianist and composer Ferdinand Hiller (1811-1885) could as well describe the playing of Chopin's "grand-student" Raoul von Koczalski (1885-1948)- One of the last pupils of Karol Mikuli (1821-1897) a favorite student of Chopin himself and one who aspired to pass on Chopin's teachings as purely as possible, Koczalski was groomed as a pianist by Mikuli from age seven to eleven. Indeed, Mikuli seems to have chosen the child prodigy Koczalski to be his successor in carrying on the Chopin tradition.

The outstanding young German pianist Joseph Moog makes his debut on ONYX with a superb disc of two great Russian piano concertos that have had very different fates.

Winning first prize at the 1989 Van Cliburn Competition, Alexei Sultanov enjoyed a meteoric rise of epic proportions, with a major recording contract, Carnegie Hall recital, American and European tours, and TV appearances with Johnny Carson, David Letterman, and other notables. But Sultanov's star soon fell to Earth as critics would often characterize his bold style in unflattering terms, finding his interpretive manner feral and superficial, and his herculean fortes ostentatious: he broke a string during a performance of the Liszt First Mephisto Waltz at the Cliburn Competition. But the youthful pianist's health soon proved a more formidable opponent than any critic's pen, as a series of strokes sabotaged his career, eventually leaving him paralyzed on his left side after 2001. Though he died at 35, Sultanov left a memorable though controversial legacy. His Prokofiev, Chopin, Rachmaninov, and Scriabin could rivet the listener, while his Beethoven and Mozart might have been less consistently engaging. His recordings, mostly available from Warner Classics, document the enormous talent of this imaginative performer, a pianist unafraid to take interpretive chances.

One of today's most popular and most critically-acclaimed pianists, Daniil Trifonov records an album of Rachmaninov Variations. Album includes solo performances of Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Variations on a Theme of Chopin and Trifonov's own composition, Rachmaniana. Also included is the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for which Yannick Nezet-Seguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra join.

Boris Berezovsky has established a remarkable reputation, both as the most powerful of virtuoso pianists and as a musician of unique insight and sensitivity. Born in Moscow in 1969, Boris Berezovsky studied at the Moscow Conservatoire with Eliso Virsaladze and privately with Alexander Satz. Following his London début at the Wigmore Hall in 1988, The Times described him as 'an artist of exceptional promise, a player of dazzling virtuosity and formidable power'; two years later that promise was fulfilled when he won the Gold Medal at the 1990 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

The collection of Lang Lang’s Complete Recordings brings together the treasure-trove of recordings that present all the many facets of the pianist’s first decade as a recording artist from 2000–2009. The set also includes his solo and concerto debut albums on the Telarc label.

Karim Shehata - Prélude - Selected Piano Works by Chopin, Rachmaninov, Debussy, Blumenfeld, Arensky, et al. (2019) {Genuin}
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© 2019 Genuin | GUIN 19653
Classical / Solo Piano

This sensuous and poignant release by pianist Karim Shehata, his second album on the GENUIN label, is more than just a prelude: it is a collection whose pieces flow into each other, comment, prelude and postlude so seamlessly that, without the booklet, it is hard to believe that these are exclusively preludes - pieces conceived as preparation for something essential. The list of composers is a "Who is Who" ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach to Olivier Messiaen. The young and yet already mature Karim Shehata plays all this with such ease and depth that one would like to rank him among the greats! Absolutely recommendable.

Boris Giltburg's 2016 release on Naxos consists of two sets of piano pieces by Sergey Rachmaninov, the Études-tableaux, Op. 39 (1916-1917), and the Moments musicaux, Op. 16 (1896). The Études-tableaux are a cross between technical studies and character pieces, reminiscent of the etudes of Frédéric Chopin, and they present considerable challenges, even to virtuoso pianists. Here, Giltburg displays his remarkable skills, as well as a range of expressions that run from the fiery and turbulent to the atmospheric and melancholy. In the Moments musicaux, Rachmaninov experimented with short forms, such as the nocturne, etude, funeral march, barcarolle, and theme with variations, and these pieces demonstrated his mastery of piano technique, if not yet his full maturity as a composer. Giltburg's playing brings out a variety of colors and textures, and his passionate interpretations accord with Rachmaninov's youthful, ardent style.