Ballades, sonnets, poems - in earlier days, these were the genres one could mainly encounter in literature or folklore. That is, until Chopin, Liszt and Scriabin introduced them to classical music. On her album Storyteller, pianist Anna Fedorova focuses on these three composers, how they explored the poetic genres, and how their compositions reflected the actual pieces of literature that inspired them.

Classical Music

Anna Fedorova's Shaping Chopin features the music that made her feel less lonely in 2020, and will hopefully bring some consolation and joy to you as well. The album’s cover art was created by Marcelle Schoenmaker during a live concert.

“Chopin’s music had an important place in my life from early childhood," says Fedorova, "and I worked extensively on various pieces with my parents, who were my teachers at that time in Kiev. While we were separated for a long time, I felt closer to them through his music. Practicing certain waltzes or nocturnes seemed to transport me in time and space and reflected the current mood with their dreaminess and melancholy.

When the opportunity to record a new album spontaneously arose, I immediately thought about the music of Chopin. I selected various Waltzes, Nocturnes and Mazurkas, and added the Fantaisie Impromptu, as they cover a wide spectrum of emotions, moods, and colors. It’s incredible how Chopin can express himself so intensely and so deeply in a piece which lasts just a few minutes. He always manages to create a captivating atmosphere and a unique dreamworld. While performing Chopin’s miniatures it feels like diving into a living painting, artistically shaping its unique story, colors, and characters with music.”

Between 2020 and 2023, Anna Fedorova released all of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concertos together with the Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen and Modestas Pitrenas on Channel Classics Records. BBC Music Magazine gave five star reviews for Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 1, Preludes, and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini as well as Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 4, noting that “Ukrainian pianist Anna Fedorova is clearly not only a fine human being ... but also a remarkable artist". It was also Classic FM’s Album of the Weekend, Album of the Week on Scala Radio, received Luister Magazine’s 10 star-review and Anna was highly praised in International Piano for her "passionate, spontaneously phrased and radiant reading". Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 was released in the spring of 2023 and quickly became a bestseller at Tower Records in Japan and at NativeDSD Music. With over 38 million views, Anna Fedorova’s live recording of Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in Amsterdam's Concertgebouw is the most frequently watched concerto on YouTube. Anna Fedorova, Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen and Modestas Pitrenas raise their glass to Rachmaninoff by releasing their complete 3 CD box-set in 2023; the 150th birthday year of the composer.

Ukrainian pianist Anna Fedorova's new release, Liberte, is a cultural and musical dialogue between France and America. The influence of jazz plays a central role in this tribute to French and American composers whose work transcends genres and borders. Performed together with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Castilla y Leon under Pablo Gonzalez, the album's core pillars are Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Also featured are short solo pieces that echo it's central themes: three miniatures by Germaine Tailleferre, Time Peace, a miniature by Andrew Blickenderfer, and the jazzy�Valse�from�Partita No. 5�by Fedorova's compatriot Myroslav Skoryk. Two French chansons round out Liberte, an album where freedom, jazz, and the shared spirit of France and America meet in music.

Born in Mexico City, violist Dana Zemtsov has always retained a deep love for the colourful Latin-American culture. The discovery of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's book One Hundred Years of Solitude, in which the vivid literary images of clouds of yellow butterflies precede a forbidden lover's arrival, inspired Dana to revisit her earliest musical memories. This led to a unique project embodying the most characteristic expression of love in Latin-American culture: the beautiful boleros presented on this album entitled Yellow Butterfly. They are so well known that practically every Spanish-speaking person can sing them by heart. With arrangements by the legendary Joan Albert Amargos and Claudio Constantini, the recording conjures the surreal atmosphere of the Americas: melancholy, roughness, poetry, vitality and joy. These 'recomposed' boleros were arranged for solo viola and a small ensemble that consists of pianist Anna Fedorova, trumpeter Angelo Verploegen, bandoneonist Claudio Constantini, double bassist Nicholas Schwartz and percussionist Andre Groen.

Anna Fedorova explores the Intrigues of the Darkness in these programmatic and extremely virtuosic works for solo piano. The journey from darkness to light begins with Scriabin's terrifying "Black Mass" Sonata. The work represents a satanic ritual that is possessed by the spectre of the Mephistophelian Liszt. de Falla's Suite from El Amor brujo conjures a mysterious world, full of magic, rituals and ghost visitations. Ravel described his Gaspard de la nuit as "romantic and of transcendent virtuosity". These highly evocative pieces are based on Aloysius Bertrand's prose poems depicting scenes of a hanged man sighing on the gallows and a devilish dwarf. Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition portrays many scenes of darkness but emerges into light with the Great Gate of Kiev, in which triumphant episodes alternate with moments of religious contemplation.

Anna Fedorova and the Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen under Modestas Pitrenas complete their critically acclaimed cycle of the Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos with this recording of his Third Piano Concerto. Anna Fedorova considers Rachmaninoff’s Third one of the grandest concertos ever written, stating "it has incredible compelling power and demands mobilization of all the physical, creative and emotional abilities from both soloist and orchestra. At the same time this composition is very romantic by its nature, sort of a lyrical confession of the composer”. BBC Music Magazine has given 5-star reviews to all previous Fedorova/Rachmaninoff recordings, noting that "Ukrainian pianist Anna Fedorova is a remarkable artist. The clear thinking and feeling behind these Rachmaninoff concerto interpretations are refreshing indeed”. As a post scriptum to this album, Anna Fedorova performs The Messenger for solo piano written by Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov. It is a musical meditation, a thought for her country and fellow Ukrainians, a message of light, peace and hope for the future.

With over 35 million views, Anna Fedorova's live performance of Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto is the most viewed classical concerto video on YouTube. We are proud to release the long-awaited studio recording of this beloved concerto, together with Rachmaninoff's 4th Piano Concerto. "Rachmaninoff wrote his 4th Piano Concerto nine years after emigrating, afterwards it was twice revised by the composer. It represents the change of the era, a farewell to the past and a dive into a quite terrifying future. The 2nd Concerto, however, represents rebirth and resurrection of the spirit, hope and light. Something we all need so much nowadays. I am very grateful to the Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen, conductor Modestas Pitrenas and recording engineer Jared Sacks for the most inspiring days spent together in St. Gallen recording this album!" (Anna Fedorova) This album is the follow-up to Anna's 2020 release of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No.1 with the same orchestra and conductor. Anna will complete her Rachmaninoff cycle with the release of the 3rd Piano Concerto in the spring of 2023.

This program is a wonderful little treasure chest overflowing with musical gems for the viola, all composed in Holland in the twentieth century. Even more delightful is the thought that these pieces and their four composers abide in the twilight of Dutch musical life and seldom if ever come to the attention of soloists and orchestras. They spotlight a beautiful solo instrument – the viola – which is not exactly seen as the prima donna of the podium, and which usually occupies a modest place as a middle voice in the orchestra or string quartet. This is the first recording of the Concertino for viola and orchestra of Jan Koetsier.