Product Description The great Russian virtuoso Nikolai Lugansky presents his recording to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Franz Liszt (1811-1886) an album of popular piano pieces including La Campanella, Valse oubliée, his version of Isoldes Liebestod by Wagner, some of the Douze études d'exécution transcendante, and several gems from Années de pèlerinage, among them Vallée d'Obermann, Sposalizio, Les jeux d'eau de la Villa d'Este and Sonnet de Pétrarque 123. An acclaimed recording artist, Nikolai Lugansky has recently signed an exclusive contract with the Naïve-Ambroisie label. The Moscow-born pianist put together this disc, his first devoted entirely to Liszt's music, with a seriousness, freedom and concern for overall unity worthy of the composer himself. His last release - an all-Chopin recital for Onyx - was described by The Guardian as "unquestionably thrilling", and his recording with violinist Repin of Sonatas by Franck, Grieg and Janácek (Deutsche Grammophon, October 2010) was hailed by Gramophone as "a quite magnificent performance". It also won the Prize for best Chamber Music recording at the BBC Music Magazine Awards 2011. Nikolai Lugansky won the Diapason d'Or for his recordings of the complete Chopin Études and Preludes, and the Rachmaninov Preludes and Moments musicaux, as well as an Echo Klassik Deutscher Musikpreis for his 2005 recording of Rachmaninov's Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 3. Capable of great refinement and sensitivity in Mozart and Schumann, and breathtaking virtuosity in Rachmaninov and Prokofiev, Lugansky is a pianist of extraordinary depth and versatility. Recent and upcoming engagements include concerto projects with the Leipzig Gewandhaus and Andris Nelsons, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Vasily Petrenko, Philharmonia Orchestra and Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and NHK Symphony Orchestra all with Charles Dutoit; recitals at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Moscow State Conservatory, Londons Wigmore Hall, Prague's Rudolfinum and the Wiener Konzerthaus; and chamber music collaborations with Vadim Repin and Leonidas Kavakos. Personnel: Nikolai Lugansky (piano) Review (4 stars) Lugansky favours fantasy over whimsy...a handsome programme. Throughout, there is a feeling of extemporisation. -- The Independent On Sunday, (Anna Picard), December 4, 2011(4 stars) Striking...blending lyricism with panache...the sheer beauty of Lugansky's playing belies the work's difficulty...an absolute knockout. -- The Guardian, (Tim Ashley), November 11, 2011
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