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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Rachmaninov: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2
Following his much-praised Liszt recital, released in 2011, this new recording is the second project on Naïve-Ambroisie from renowed Russian pianist Nikolai Lugansky. Considered as one of the best performers of Rachmaninov in the world, Nikolai Lugansky is offering his very personal and accurate vision of the two piano sonatas of the composer. Both piano sonatas are monuments of the repertoire, with technical challenges and intense colours. Yet, composed 5 years apart, presenting a multitude of emotions and contrasts, they are significantly different works. Very few recordings already exist of the first sonata, that Rachmaninov intended to be a programme sonata based on the main characters of Goethe’s Faust. In the coming weeks and months, Lugansky will perform Rachmaninov, in recital or concerto, in the main venues in Europe and North America. “As always with his Rachmaninov, Lugansky's playing balances grand gestures with an immaculate sense of detail. It's a combination that works particularly well with the overt drama of the First Sonata, where his subtle rhythmic and emotional inflections add immensely to the gathering tension. His performance of the Second is altogether more restrained: the limpidity of the slow movement is exquisite in the extreme.” The Guardian, 11th October 2012 **** “If, like me, you feel that Rachmaninov's First Sonata doesn't quite stack up, Nikolai Lugansky's account may just cause you to have second thoughts...Lugansky's superb perofrmance is endorsed by the rich, full tone of the piano...Rachmaninov-playing of a very high order.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2012 “with playing of this authority and conviction, it comes very highly recommended” International Record Review, December 2012 “This is very exciting playing in two very taxing works...Lugansky produces plenty of fire and brimstone, but also creates a tender and refined sound...Even at its most aggressive, his playing has a clarity and an utterly convincing sense of where every passage fits into the grand design. A really impressive disc.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2013 ***** | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Faust: Rachmaninov & Liszt Piano Sonatas
Ketevan Sepashvilli (piano) | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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“…Mustonen creates a savage case for an unduly neglected sonata. …he creates a searing emotional turbulence, whirling us through the vortex of the first movement development with heart-stopping brilliance and making the chains of ecstatic trills concluding the central Lento flash like so many shooting stars. Mustonen is no less remarkable in Tchaikovsky's Seasons, scorning their gentler, more domestic virtues. August is allegro vivace with a vengeance, every cross-rhythm caught and underlined with razor-sharp aplomb, while December, normally a gently alluring waltz, is made elfin, piquant and scintillating at each of its many turns.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2006 | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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| | | (also available to download from $6.00) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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Gramophone Magazine