Chopin: 4 Ballades, 4 Scherzi

"The results, presented as they are here with such consummate technical accomplishment, are really quite stunning." --Gramophone

Ashkenazy made his first recording for Decca in March 1963 – Rachmaninov’s monumental Third Piano Concerto – a recording which has achieved reference status - This was the time he defected from Russia and came to live in London, shortly after achieving worldwide fame when he was joint winner (with John Ogdon) of the Second International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1962; it marked the start of a recording and concert career which has scarcely been matched by any other pianist for the sheer breadth of repertory.

The Carnegie Recital

“what's impressive here is not just the magnificent and reactive pianism on show but also his maturity. His Chopin Preludes possess a stunning elan...Perhaps it's no coincidence that Trifonov is also a composer; he has a composerly grasp of the structure of all the works here.” --Gramophone Magazine, December 2013

“the torrents of octaves in ...the Liszt are astonishing in their brilliance, boldness and bravura. Rather, the key thing here is that Trifonov can harness his digital strength, stamina and skill to a highly developed sense of the music’s expressive substance...a captivating recital brimful of character.” --The Telegraph, 21st November 2013 *****

Opinions differ on whether he is the heir of Horowitz, Richter or Kissin but in that line of giants, critical opinion is unanimous: Daniil Trifonov is THE great Russian pianist for the 21st Century.

In the past thirty years, the honour of a live Carnegie Hall recital recording has been bestowed by DG upon only two other pianists: Mikhail Pletnev and Lang Lang. Daniil Trifonov now joins this elite company for his very first recording on the Yellow Label.

Recorded in February this year, this richly contrasted and spectacularly virtuosic programme includes much-loved classics by Chopin and Liszt and is the perfect album to introduce the world to DG’s newest piano star . Born 22 years ago in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, Trifonov is already the winner of the Grand Prix, First prize and a Gold Medal in the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (2011.) Beyond his phenomenal technique, he is a distinctly Russian artist: an intense, soulful musician in the great Russian tradition whose presentation and repertoire set him apart from all other young piano stars of today.

Chopin: Piano Concertos

“True, she sails perilously close to over-sentimentalising the opening Romanza...but Fliter plays with grace and heartfelt sincerity - abetted by some lovely duetting with the SCO's bassoonist - that...I was quickly won over...Fliter, by whatever magical means, touches the heart.” --Gramophone Magazine, March 2014

“With so many first-rate recorded performances of varying vintages and in different price-ranges did we need another recording? Emphatically yes, if it’s as good as this new Linn CD...There’s plenty of bravura and power in the outer movements without any sense of showing off and there’s poetry in the slow movements.” --MWInternational, March 2014

Award-winning pianist Ingrid Fliter makes her Linn debut with a distinctive performance of Chopin’s notoriously difficult piano concertos, featuring the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jun Märkl.

Since winning the silver medal at the 2000 Frederic Chopin Competition in Warsaw, Ingrid has built a reputation as a first-rate Chopin interpreter.

Fliter has previously recorded two all-Chopin discs; her interpretation of the complete Chopin Waltzes received several five star reviews and was named as the Telegraph's ‘CD of the Week’ and Classic FM Magazine's ‘Editors Choice’.

Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 is a thoughtfully scored composition that allows the piano to shine. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s beautifully delicate playing perfectly highlights Fliter’s authoritative, yet expressive performance.

Fliter carefully and skilfully showcases the range of tones in Chopin’s second piano concerto, from the dramatic introductory chords at the opening of the first movement to the sweetly lyrical second movement where the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s woodwinds vie for centre stage. Fliter is a breathtaking performer whose performance of Chopin’s commanding chords and lightening speed runs are effortless.

Ingrid Fliter first sprang to international attention when she was awarded the 2006 Gilmore Artist Award, one of only a handful of pianists to have received this honour.

Ingrid Fliter was also selected as a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist from 2007-2009, working with several of the BBC orchestras under the auspices of this programme.

Ingrid Fliter works with orchestras such as Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

2014 is the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s fortieth anniversary year; ‘Chopin: Piano Concertos’ is its twenty first recording with Linn.

Conductor Jun Märkl is constantly in demand with the world’s leading orchestras and soloists, having studied with Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa.

Chill with Chopin

Born near Warsaw in 1810, the son of a French émigré and a Polish mother, Fryderyk Chopin was a prodigiously gifted child. He entered the Warsaw Conservatory at the age of sixteen and left three years later with a report from the head of the Conservatory that read “Lessons in musical composition: Chopin, F., third year student, amazing capabilities, a musical genius”. It is for his myriad solo piano works that he is far and away best known: as a pianist himself he instinctively knew how best to write for that instrument and in fact did not write a single work that does not include a piano in some capacity.

About this Recording