Rachmaninov: Chopin Variations; Song Transcriptions

Osokins, Georgijs

PCL 10166

The main work on this new recording are the mighty Variations on a Theme by Chopin (the C minor Prelude). The Chopin Variations suffer unjustly from the fame of their elder brothers (resp. The second Piano Sonata and the Corelli Variations), yet they are truly the works of the same genius, in their broad and expansive romantic language, their pianistic glittering and bravura and their true Russian Soul. • Furthermore Georgijs Osokins presents several transcriptions of Rachmaninoff Songs, among which the famous Vocalise. • Georgijs Osokins, born into a family of Latvian musicians’/pianists, gained international attention through his participation at age 19 in the Chopin Competition 2015, where his performances received either superlatives or led to controversy. His playing is of a rare originality, based on a deep musical intuition, a strong sense of rhetoric and an immaculate technique. His teachers include Sergei Babayan, Dimitri Bashkirov (“This young musician is exceptionally talented”) and Georg-Friedrich Schenk (renowned teacher of a.o. Evgeny Bozhanov and Sukyeon Kim). He regularly plays with Gidon Kremer’s Kremerata Baltica, and has upcoming recitals in the Fribourg series and the Ruhr Piano Festival.

CD x 1

Piano Classics

9/30/19

5029365101660