The works on Sofya Gulyak's Piano Classics Johannes Brahms release span the composers' lifetime. The Handel Variations brim with energy, pianistic brilliance and youthful pathos, the two Rhapsodies Op. 79 are serious and dramatic, the Fantasien Op. 116 breathe the air of melancholy. Winner of the prestigious 2009 Leeds Competition (the first woman to do so in it's history), Ms. Gulyak has since performed at the world's most important venues. Her first CD, works of Rachmaninov, received international praise, including 5 Stars in French Diapason and "stunning debut album" from Gramophone.