Bortkiewicz studied at the Imperial Conservatory of Music in St Petersburg and later at the Königliches Konservatorium der Musik in Leipzig, where he was awarded the Schumann prize upon graduation.
Composer's Artistic Vision
His music builds on the styles of Chopin and Liszt, with influences from early Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, and Blumenfeld, focusing on melody, harmony, and structure.
Composer Biography
Sergei Bortkiewicz, the composer, was born in Kharkov, Russia (now Ukraine) in 1877 and spent most of his childhood on the family estate of Artiomowka.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Bortkiewicz described himself as a romantic and a melodist, expressing an aversion to modern, atonal, and cacophonous music.
Historical Context
During the Russian Civil War, Bortkiewicz and his wife were forced to flee their estate and eventually escaped from Yalta to Constantinople (Istanbul) on one of the last refugee ships.
Performer Biography
Klaas Trapman, the pianist on this recording, studied piano, organ, and music theory at the Royal Conservatory of Music at The Hague, where he also taught.
Historical Context
The outbreak of World War I in 1914 led to Bortkiewicz, being Russian, being placed under house arrest in Germany and later forced to leave the country.
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