Rachmaninov: Moment musical No. 3 in B minor, Op. 16 No. 3

For modern audiences the name of Sergei Rachmaninov, who was born in 1873, conjures up great memorable tunes primarily from his second piano concerto (used in the film Brief Encounter) and second symphony; he was indeed the last flowering of Russian late Romanticism. For his contemporaries, however, he was one of the greatest pianists and who was an expert in expressing moods in the briefest time scale – he was a brilliant miniaturist. He wrote 17 Etudes-Tableaux and 26 Préludes, this collection provides all of the former and 5 of the latter including the one (in C# minor), written when was only 19, which became so popular that it haunted him as he was known to the general public by that piece alone. The Second Sonata is in one movement but three distinct sections, with the slower central movement providing some respite from the turbulence of the outer movements. The Variations on a theme of Corelli was Rachmaninov’s last work for solo piano and is based on the traditional tune La follia which Corelli used in his twelfth violin sonata. The Variations are skilfully wrought as they are in the Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini, the work that immediately followed it; the tune on which the Variations are made is the 24th Caprice for solo violin by the brilliant violinist-composer Paganini.

This young pianist uses his everyday encounters and experiences as much as his contact with the keyboard to nourish his music. He particularly enjoys chamber music and has worked with ensembles such as the Psophos Quartet. He has a taste for intimate venues, where a true exchange with the audience can take place. Here he brings his talents to his native French and Russian works.

Mid-2010 marks a double debut for Sarajevo-born In The Mists pianist, Ivana Gavrić, who will play at the Wigmore Hall for her first solo recital there, and in association with Champs Hill Records, release her first CD, In The Mists.

Moving to London in 1992 at the start of the Bosnian War, Ivana, the daughter of a pianist and then aged 12, studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Cambridge University, and the Royal College of Music.

About her, Musical Opinion recently wrote: ʻOutstandingly successful in every regard… flawless performance... a young artist who is destined for the highest rank.ʼ

This new CD, recorded recently in the Music Room at Champs Hill (from where the label takes its name), takes its title from the featured Janáček work.

About the programme, Ivana says: "The Schubert is a core around which I have constructed the programme - I have always felt comfortable playing works of Classical construction, and the A minor Sonata (D784) opens with a Slavic tint which, to me, foretells Mussorgsky. I find it important to create a journey for both the audience, and myself, that shows all the aspects of my musical personality; the introspective and haunting images in Janáčekʼs ʻIn the Mistsʼ conveys this, while the Rachmaninov pieces add passion and lyricism.”

Also featured on this CD, are Lisztʼs stunningly melodic Petrarch Sonnets, bringing the playing time to just over 73 minutes.

Rachmaninov’s piano music is a world in itself but is also an open window onto the rest of his music. One of the greatest pianists of his time, who had to rely on that talent for a living after several failures as a composer, he poured all his soul into his keyboard music with passion and dignity.