Medtner & Rachmaninoff: Piano Works

Featuring

Yevgeny Sudbin
Nikolai Medtner
Sergei Rachmaninoff

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Ivan Ilyin, a philosopher, described Medtner's melodies as having a universal and primordial spiritual content, as if they had always existed.

Compositional Technique

Rachmaninov's Prelude Op.32 No.13 is notable for its grand physical demands, with many chords being nearly unplayable for a 'normal' human hand.

Composition History

Rachmaninov composed his entire Op.32 Preludes in just 19 days at his summer residence, Ivanovka, during a highly productive period in his career.

Composition History

Medtner coined his own unique genre with his 'Fairy Tales,' composing over thirty of them throughout his life, drawing inspiration from folklore, Pushkin, Shakespeare, and the Bible.

Compositional Technique

Medtner's Op.1, Prologue from Stimmungsbilder, features highly complex polyrhythms that create the impression that at least three hands are needed to play it.

Composer Biography

Rachmaninov, a close friend and supporter of Medtner, famously proclaimed Medtner to be 'the greatest composer of our time.'

Performer Biography

Yevgeny Sudbin, the pianist on this album, was hailed by the Daily Telegraph as 'potentially one of the greatest pianists of the 21st century' and has received numerous awards for his recordings.