Bach, J S: Chorale Prelude BWV639 'Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ'

Since winning the Arthur Rubinstein Competition and the Sidney Piano Competition, Alexander Korsantia’s career has taken him to many of the world’s major concert halls, collaborating with renowned conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Christoph Eschenbach, Yuri Bashmet and Paavo Jarvi and orchestras as the Chicago Symphony, the Kirov, Israel Philharmonic and Oslo Philharmonic. He has also given many recitals with renowned violinist Vadim Repin. Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, Korsantia has lived in the United States since 1992. He now resides in Boston where he is Professor of Piano at the New England Conservatory. Enjoying great popularity in his country of birth, he performed at the inauguration of Georgian President Saakashvili in 2004.

Korsantia’s live recordings, on two discs, present an attractive programme carefully chosen from recitals he has given since 1995 in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Toulouse, Boston and New York. The first CD features arrangements of Bach by Busoni, Egon Petri and Myra Hess’s famous version of the chorale Jesu, Joy of Men's Desiring, two Piano Sonatas by Haydn and Mozart’s Sonata in C major, KV330 and 20th century Russian and Georgian music. Korsantia has rearranged Gwido Agosti’s magnificent 1934 piano transcription of the last three pieces from The Firebird Suite to reflect more of Stravinsky's original orchestral sound. Stravinsky’s Tango is followed by Giya Kancheli’s Instead of Tango originally written in 1996 for violin, piano, bandoneon and double bass. Kancheli’s own piano arrangement is dedicated to three Georgian pianists, one of them Alexander Korsantia. The second disc is devoted to Sergei Prokofiev: his Pastoral Sonatina and Vision Fugitive, No 11, Op 22 bookend the Piano Sonata No 7 in B flat major and the substantial Piano Sonata No 8.

The transcriptions of Bach’s keyboard works for full symphony orchestra by Leopold Stokowski, one of the greatest conductors of the twentieth century, formed a successful part of his crusade to increase the accessibility of music. In reality Stokowski’s transcriptions had little to do with Bach: they are rather complete re-compositions in the manner of Wagner or Tchaikovsky for the late-romantic symphony orchestra. They have enjoyed continuing popularity since Stokowski first introduced them, and took a central rôle in the internationally popular film which he made with Walt Disney, Fantasia.

The recordings on this CD were made between 1927 and 1939, with Stokowski conducting in all instances The Philadelphia Orchestra, whose lush orchestra style was clearly well suited to his musical vision of Bach.