Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 1
Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen, Modestas Pitrenas
Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini are performed by pianist Anna Fedorova, Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen and conductor Modestas Pitrenas. In addition to these two concertos, Anna plays four of Rachmaninoff’s Preludes on this recording.
"This album is like an express train, taking us through the whole of Rachmaninoff's life. From his student years when he was composing his 1st Piano Concerto, through his mature years when he wrote the Preludes, his departure to the USA when he revised his Piano Concerto, to the last years of his life where he spent his summers in Lucerne, composing and scampering around on his speed boat. Rachmaninoff was never able to return to, or even visit his home country after emigrating from Russia, but his homeland always remained in his heart and is always reflected in his music. "
- Anna Fedorova
"Fedorova’s reflective yet never over-indulgent style of playing is also evident in the preludes. Her technique is fluent but never facile – witness the crystalline textures of the G sharp minor Prelude. The Paganini Rhapsody initially appears a scintillating and very extensive encore, demonstrating Fedorova’s fire and theatrical qualities."
- BBC Music Magazine
"Fedorova provides us yet another, passionate reading of the 1934 Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, his final work for piano and orchestra. Federova reveals something of the 'Richter tradition' in large chords in splendid volume, massive, but without intrusive percussion and still singing."
- Gary Lemco, Audiophile Audition