Search - Vladimir Ashkenazy :: Rachmaninov: Piano Sonata & Chopin Variations

The combination of Vladimir Ashkenazy and the music of Rachmaninov is one of the iconic partnerships of recorded music, with the piano concertos alone selling millions of copies. In recent years the great Russian pianist and conductor has turned his attention to recording the solo piano music, in recordings that draw on a lifetime of experience as a Rachmaninov interpreter. On this new album he performs two masterworks from a particularly rich period of Rachmaninov's musical life. Rachmaninov was himself one of the greatest of all Chopin pianists and his Variations On A Theme Of Chopin are a deeply felt homage, combining Chopinesque elegance with Rachmaninov's sweeping minor-key romanticism. Written five years later, the First Sonata has all the hallmarks of Rachmaninov's mature style, contrasting pianistic grandeur with hushed intimacy. As Geoffrey Norris writes in his booklet essay "The First Sonata is a work of passion, written from the heart and with an emotional intensity that is palpable and compelling"