ADAGIO & ALLEGRO

The present CD comprises a selection from the popular miniatures of romantic cello literature. However, the concept of romanticism has been slightly extended to also include into this imaginary club Kodály's and Rachmaninov's lyrical pieces. The works are performed by the third-prize winner of the Eurovision Young Musicians 2014 Gergely Devich, accompanied by his mother Mária Kovalszki on piano.
Release date: 8th June 2015

RACHMANINOV Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2

“The catalogue may bulge with recordings of these two concertos, yet the verve and poetry of these performances somehow forbid comparison, even at the most exalted level. Zimerman claims that Rachmaninov says everything there is to say about the First Concerto in his own performance.

But had Rachmaninov heard Zimerman he might have been envious. Zimerman opens in a blaze of rhetorical glory before skittering through the first Vivace with the sort of winged brilliance that will reduce lesser pianists to despair. 

The cadenza is overwhelming, and at 4'36" in the central Andante's starry ascent his rubato tugs painfully at the heartstrings. In the finale, despite a dizzying tempo, every one of the teeming notes is pinpointed with shining clarity.

The Second Concerto also burns and coruscates in all its first heat. A romantic to his fingertips, Zimerman inflects one familiar theme after another with a yearning, bittersweet intensity that he equates in his interview with first love.

Every page is alive with a sense of wonder at Rachmaninov's genius. Seiji Ozawa and the Boston orchestra are ideal partners, and DG's sound and balance are fully worthy of this memorable release.” --Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 2 & MONTERO Ex Patria

“[Ex Patria is] an elegiac fantasia for piano and orchestra, very Russian in style…it hangs organically together, and has no need to be read as programme music…the best part of this CD consists of three improvisations…here is the full Montero, revelling in her fine technique and unstoppable creative flow.” --BBC Music Magazine, September 2015

“Just 13 minutes long, Ex Patria certainly packs a punch. A dissonant but subdued start gives way to a violent, pulsating allegro, then a full-blooded romantic melody that sours and disintegrates...Montero’s volatile, ferociously rhythmic compositional style suits her subject.” --The Times, 13th June 2015 ***

Gabriela Montero (piano)

YOA Orchestra of the Americas, Carlos Miguel Prieto

Gabriela Montero’s debut orchestral recording features the world premiere of her first formal composition, Ex Patria, as well as her first concerto recording, Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2.

Montero is a passionate advocate for the people of her native Venezuela and a vocal opponent to its brutal Chavist government. It was here that she found her inspiration as she set down to write her Opus 1.

The album marks an important point in the evolution of Montero’s career. Long acclaimed as a pianist and for her thrilling improvisations, Montero now takes her place amongst and pays homage to the great tradition of composer/performers, of which Rachmaninov is one of the most enduring exponents.

RACHMANINOV Symphony No. 3 & BALAKIREV Russia

“Gergiev's view is dark and stormy, his relatively slow pacing undercut by so many lugubrious inflections that the piece loses its overall shape.” --Gramophone Magazine, September 2015

“Gergiev and the LSO capture the score's expressive beauty, and also the sense of its transience as chill winter encroaches” --BBC Music Magazine, December 2015

“The band is on its best form, the playing imbued with affection and nostalgia as well as verve and drive.” --Sunday Times, 9th August 2015