Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18

Although Rubinstein did not play many works by Rachmaninov, he made four recordings of the Piano Concerto No. 2. If, in this May 1946 recording, Rubinstein’s adherence to the text is not always completely accurate, his performance is full of exhilaration and panache with fast tempos and a climax judged to have any audience jumping to its feet. The 1947 recording of the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is remarkable, even today, for the high quality of the sound, described as “Stunning! The recording is almost too vivid”, by a critic in 1948. The only solo work of Rachmaninov that Rubinstein committed to disc was the famous Prelude in C sharp minor Op. 3 No. 2 which he recorded twice.

Henri Sigfridsson: Since he won the first prize, chamber music prize and audience prize at the Beethoven-Wettbewerb (competition) in Bonn 005, it has become abundantly clear that Henri Sigfridsson is one of the most impressive pianists of the younger generation.

Henri Sigfridsson began his studies in 1981 in the Conservatory in his hometown of Turku, and later with Pavel Gililov and Lazar Berman.Since 1995, Henri Sigfridsson has been giving concerts not only in Europe, but also in Japan and in the USA.and has worked together with conductors Vladimir Ashkenazy, Dennis Russell Davies, Lawrence Foster, Howard Shelley and Georg Alexander Albrecht. He is also a regular guest at many international festivals and cultivates his intensive relationship with chamber music.