With Michael Korstick, OehmsClassics has released about fifteen albums, including a set with Beethoven sonatas which was applauded on all sides. With his first Rachmaninoff recording he once more demonstrates his inspired ability to empathize completely with the composer in question. The Janacek Philharmonic Ostrava under Dmitry Liss proves an excellent accompanist. This album is completed by the Corelli Variations, recorded in February 2018, and the Piano Sonata No. 2, recorded much earlier. Michael Korstick was born in Cologne, Germany in 1955. He studied with Hans Leygraf and Tatiana Nikolayeva and completed his professional training at The Juilliard School in New York where he was a scholarship student of Sascha Gorodnitzki for seven years. A prizewinner in many prestigious international competitions, Korstick is concertizing in major venues around the globe with a repertoire including 130 works for piano and orchestra. More than 50 award-winning albums have earned him a reputation as one of Germany's leading pianists.

Classical Music

Marking their latest collaboration with their conductor laureate Vladimir Ashkenazy, the Philharmonia returns with a stellar live-performance recording of two late works by Rachmaninov – the Symphonic Dances and Symphony No. 3 in A Minor. This release is third and final in a new series of Rachmaninov’s symphonic works, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy in live performances with the Philharmonia Orchestra. The previous volumes, which included Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2, were met with critical acclaim. “Perhaps the most satisfying of all…” (BBC Music Magazine) “Ashkenazy knows how to shape detail and soar in the big melodic moments. The PHilharmonia sound is muscular and alert, from the opening woodwind solos to the mighty, stirring symphonic tutti of the finale.” (The Observer)

From the artists: "Our objective in creating this new arrangement was to remain as faithful to the original as practically possible. We set out to embrace not only the capabilities of the two pianos but also their limitations - we wanted to create a true piano work, rather than a less-than-satisfactory imitation of the orchestral version. We first performed our arrangement at St John's Smith Square in London in 2017 and for the next five years we worked to refine the textures and to create something comfortably pianistic while incorporating as much of Rachmaninoff's intention as is feasible. We sought inspiration from the composers own arrangement of the Symphonic Dances Op.45, from his two Suites for two pianos Opp.5 and 17, and from his four-hands version of The Rock Op.7. We hope that our arrangement will be enjoyable to all pianists who have a love for Rachmaninoff's music. The much-loved Adagio will serve as a great challenge for musicians of diploma level, while anyone who has enjoyed performing the Suites will surely enjoy this new challenge."

This new album is the latest release from 2013 Cincinnati World Piano Competition gold medal winner, Marianna Prjevalskaya. Featuring Variations on Themes by Chopin and Corelli, the album was recorded at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in the Robert J. Werner Recital Hall. +“Rachmaninoff’s finest writing, where compositional skills give birth to a world of endless pianistic possibilities.” (Prjevalskaya)

After his participation in the 2015 Chopin Competition in Warsaw, Sergei Babayan noted of Georgijs Osokins that 'he has a very rare gift of a true Chopinist... This young musician is exceptionally talented.' This talent was on show for all to hear in his debut album of late Chopin for Piano Classics. Now Osokins moves between the contrasting worlds of Chopin and Rachmaninov with the same unruffled authority as his seamless legato. As his first lengthy composition for piano, Rachmaninov's set of Chopin Variations Op. 22 is a rare bird both in recital and on record, and rarer still in it's complete form, as presented here. Osokins also takes the rare option, authorized by the composer, of playing the full theme both at the beginning and end of the Variations, lending to it a shape and coherence missing from several other, more storied versions. Indeed Osokins places himself in the distinguished tradition of Earl Wild and his forebears stretching back to Liszt, both in terms of his dazzling technical assurance and his repertoire, which encompasses original transcriptions as much as Romantic-era masterpieces. To follow the Variations he plays Wild's version of 'In the Silence of the Secret Night' Op. 4 No. 3- a brooding, melancholy nocturne of a song- and a sensual take on 'How Fair This Spot' by Arcadi Volodos. Then there is Rachmaninov's own, early Barcarolle, a rarely heard collection of Fragments (from 1917, the year of his exile to the US) and a version of the famous Vocalise which is the work of many hands, including Ososkins, who rounds off the album in the grand style with his own transcription of the 'Nunc Dimittis' from the Vespers.

Gramophone:��immense technical fluency... innate musical quality...�exceptionally well-mannered performances...�Lugansky's tone is beautifully rounded and unforced in all parts of the dynamic spectrum (a truly Russian prerogative) and passages of delicate filigree are spun off with a no less enviable elegance and lightness. Musicweb:�The piano playing is truly outstanding, with the young Russian giving the sort of red-blooded readings that have one thinking of a young Richter, Gilels or from our own time, Kissin or Pletnev... This is altogether outstanding Soviet pianism

Rachmaninoff's Third and Second Symphonies are distanced from each other not only by thirty years but also by the turning point in history that bisected the destiny of the Russian intelligentsia. Rachmaninoff was full of creative energy and aspirations while writing the Second Symphony, in 1906-1907, even though he sought solitude in Dresden to feel the breath of his Motherland from a distance and to relate his own destiny to it. He was already a different person by the mid-1930s, struggling with the aftermath of his fate as an exile and summing up his life. He wrote this new work about Russia and himself - which was to become the Third Symphony - at villa Senar in Switzerland. The geographical distance was aggravated by the distance in time: a gravitation towards the cherished past, to which it was impossible to return. The Ural Philharmonic Orchestra under Dmitry Liss has repeatedly performed the Third Symphony in both Russia and abroad; they also performed it in La Folle Journee festival in Nantes in 2018. The orchestra's interpretation of Ravel's La Valse is similarly iconic; this gained particular recognition from European critics and opened the doors to the world's leading stages.

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Rachmaninoff: Liturgie de Saint Jean Chrysostome - Vêpres

It is with pride that I present a special edition dedicated to the famous pianist, composer and conductor Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff, whose profound musical genius has left an indelible mark on the world of classical music. His music seamlessly blends elements of Russian Romanticism with influences from Western European traditions, creating a distinctive, expressive style and the ability to evoke a wide range of emotions. He has always been a shining example of unwavering dedication to music for me and has always encouraged me to persevere and strive for artistic excellence despite personal and professional challenges. With this album, I pay tribute to Sergei Rachmaninoff on the occasion of his 150th birthday and the 80th anniversary of his death, and present some of his remarkable and timeless works. Another important person in my life, on whose 80th anniversary I am producing this album, is Maestro Vakhtang Jordania. We recorded Rachmaninoff's Second Concerto with the Russian Federal Orchestra in Moscow in 2000, when I was 18 years old, after winning the "Jordania Special Prize" at the International Competition in Italy. That was my very first CD recording and one of the most remarkable moments in my life, motivating me in many ways. Shorena Tsintsabadze

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For its latest release on BR Klassik the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunk under its chief conductor Mariss Jansons has turned its attention to Rachmaninov with two masterworks that Rachmaninov himself regarded as his finest compositions: the choral symphony The Bells and the Symphonic Dances, his last completed orchestral score. Both were recorded live in concert at Munich.

Very much a Cinderella work, The Bells, which the composer described at different times as a choral symphony and also as a cantata, deserves wider circulation and certainly rewards repeated hearing. Rachmaninov was fired up to write the work following receipt of an anonymous text in Rome which he assumed was an original work by the Russian poet Konstantin Balmont. The text was in fact Balmont’s own free adaptation of the poem ‘The Bells’ by Edgar Allan Poe. Bells have a special significance for Russian people and one might imagine that for Rachmaninov the sound of bells in his Russian homeland evoked a bittersweet range of emotions, from intense joy to mourning. Various bell sounds are contained in Rachmaninov’s scoring: sleigh-bells, church bells, alarm bells, marriage and funeral bells. This is a striking live performance by the Chor und Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under Jansons, supported by a fine trio of Russian soloists. In the opening movement - ‘The Silver Sleigh Bells’ - the playing conveys a crisp, wintry chill together with commitment and urgency. Singing with vitality and clarity, tenor Oleg Dolgov makes a considerable impression. In the movement ‘The Mellow Wedding Bells’, the music takes on a mysterious, rather sensuous quality with soprano Tatiana Pavlovskaya displaying clarity and an unswerving approach to the text. In ‘The Loud Alarum Bells’, marked presto, the chorus and orchestra convey a heavy sense of tension and near-angst before a more positive tone develops. The baritone Alexey Markov, in the Finale, entitled ‘The Mournful Iron Bells’, intones splendidly and convincingly the grave yet hauntingly affecting text. In the substantial part for the cor anglais, there is some lovely playing - warm and mellifluous. Inspiring and powerful are the two words that best describe this reading from Jansons and his Bavarian players. Worthy of praise, too, is Simon Rattle’s outstanding live 2012 Philharmonie, Berlin account with the Rundfunkchor Berlin and the Berliner Philharmoniker and a satisfying trio of soloists on Warner. As with Jansons’ account, Rattle’s coupling is also the Symphonic Dances. Admirable, also, is the exciting and committed 1979 account from the RSFSR Yurlov Academic Russian Choir and USSR Academic Symphony Orchestra under Yevgeni Svetlanov. Originally released on Melodiya, I have the Regis reissue. Worthy of consideration, too, is the finely judged 2000 Moscow account from the Moscow State Chamber Choir and Russian National Orchestra conducted by Mikhail Pletnev on Deutsche Grammophon.

After finally settling in the USA in 1939, Rachmaninov completed the Symphonic Dances, his final orchestral, work at Long Island, New York in 1940. Delighted with the score, the composer commented, “I don’t know how it happened, it must have been my last spark.” Rachmaninov was certainly in a highly reflective mood, citing quotations from some of his earlier works as well as including the Dies irae motif in the finale. Jansons and his players clearly revel in the brilliant orchestration. In the opening movement, Non Allegro, Jansons provides playing of potent drama as well as strong rhythmic impetus and a weighty percussion section. The affecting lyrical middle section is beautifully played, with the solo saxophone part especially notable. It is marked Andante con Moto (Tempo di valse) and, in Jansons’ hands, the waltz rhythms are imbued with an undertow of melancholy and a sense of near despair. The colourful woodwind and brass figures and pleasingly unified strings are a constant delight. In the Finale, the sumptuous playing from the Bavarians is quite outstanding, conveying a strong element of brooding and struggle. Jansons’ control of dynamics and transitions is striking here, together with strong and committed playing in the concluding section. Jansons’ conducts a riveting account of the Symphonic Dances, then, convincingly performed with character, passion and compelling momentum. It can stand comparison with the best recordings and probably even surpasses them. Simon Rattle’s powerful 2010 Philharmonie, Berlin recording with the Berliner Philharmoniker on Warner is certainly equal to Eugene Ormandy’s passionate and powerful 1960 Cleveland Hall, Philadelphia account with the Philadelphia Orchestra on Sony Classical. Other recordings to consider are headed by the excellent 2008/09 recording, full of character, played by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under Vasily Petrenko on Avie. There is much to enjoy in the recordings by the Berliner Philharmoniker under Lorin Maazel from 1983 on Deutsche Grammophon and by André Previn conducting the London Symphony Orchestra in 1974 on EMI Classics, both of which are splendidly performed and recorded.

Jansons has recorded both works at live concerts in the renowned acoustic of Herkulessaal, Munich, which the sound engineers have utilised to stunning effect, providing first class clarity and balance. Audience applause has been taken out and there is no extraneous noise to worry about. In the booklet the essay ‘Legacy of a Lost Homeland’ written by Larissa Kowal-Wolk is both readable and informative.

– MusicWeb International (Michael Cookson)

This is a re-release of an SWRmusic bestseller. The SWR Vokalensemble, for many years counted among the top international ensembles for contemporary music, performs here with its chief conductor Marcus Creed one of the most important works in the a cappella repertoire: Rachmaninoff's All-Night-Vigil op.37. The piece consists of settings of texts taken from the Russian Orthodox All-night vigil ceremony. It has been praised as Rachmaninoff's finest achievement and "the greatest musical achievement of the Russian Orthodox Church.” It was one of Rachmaninoff's two favorite compositions along with The Bells, and the composer requested that its fifth movement (Nunc Dimittis) be sung at his funeral.

The major work in this second album of Rachmaninov’s works in the Russian Piano series is the First Sonata, a pinnacle of high late Romanticism. Less well known are the Moments Musicaux but they too are masterful pieces. Alfonso Soldano is professor of piano performance at the Giordano Conservatory in Foggia, Italy, following similar posts at Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome and in Trani. He was a student of Ciccolini and is renowned for his virtuosity. He was awarded the International Gold Medal for ‘Best Italian Artist’ in 2013 and has won many other competitions and is also a busy writer and transcriber. His previous recordings for Divine Art, of the music of Bortkiewicz and Castelnuovo-Tedesco, received glowing reviews. His Rachmaninov (Rachmaninoff for the American readers!) is equally magical.