Rachmaninoff: Préludes; Études-Tableaux; Moments musicaux

Sergei Babayan’s solo album for Deutsche Grammophon – following his acclaimed collaboration with Martha Argerich, “Prokofiev for Two” – is a collection of heartfelt miniatures by Rachmaninoff. Babayan plays a selection of Etudes-Tableaux, Préludes and Moments Musicaux, as well as transcriptions of two songs and the slow movement of the G minor Cello Sonata. BBC Music Magazine Choice

Featuring

Sergei Babayan
Sergei Rachmaninoff

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Performer Biography

Sergei Babayan won first prizes in several international competitions, including the Cleveland International Piano Competition, the Hamamatsu Piano Competition, and the Scottish International Piano Competition, after his first trip abroad in 1989.

Performer Biography

Sergei Babayan, the pianist on this album, was born in Armenia in 1961 and became obsessed with Rachmaninoff's music at age thirteen after hearing his Second Piano Concerto.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Rachmaninoff believed that music is born only in the heart and appeals only to the heart, equating it with love, and stating its sister is Poesy and its mother is Sorrow.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Sergei Rachmaninoff, the composer, described music as a calm moonlit night, a rustling of summer foliage, and the distant peal of bells at eventide.

Performer Biography

Sergei Babayan studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Mikhail Pletnev, Vera Gornostayeva, and Lev Naumov, becoming part of the third generation of students in the Neuhaus tradition.

Interpretation

For this album, Sergei Babayan created his own cycle of Rachmaninoff's piano miniatures, rather than playing ready-made cycles of complete works, to form a unique narrative.

Compositional Technique

Rachmaninoff possessed an amazing gift for improvisation, combined with deep knowledge and craftsmanship, allowing him to create endless streams of melody from just a few notes.