The piano arrangements of the 'Sleeping Beauty' and 'Nutcracker' ballets on this album were created by Mikhail Pletnev, an all-round musician known for his taste and understanding of the piano's technical possibilities.
Composition History
Tschaikowski composed 'The Children's Album' for his favorite nephew, Volodia, inspired by Schumann's 'Kinderszenen', hoping to enrich children's musical literature.
Composer Biography
Pjotr Iljitsch Tschaikowski, though famous for his symphonies and ballets, did not write extensively for the piano, and only a small portion of his piano works are regularly performed.
Composer Biography
Mikhail Pletnev, the arranger of the ballet suites, is considered to be in a direct artistic lineage from Tschaikowski, as his teacher Yakov Flier studied with Konstantin Igumnov, who likely knew Tschaikowski himself.
Performer Biography
Anna Malikova, the pianist on this album, was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and was sent to Moscow at age 14 to study at the Central Music School with Lev Naumov, a renowned Russian piano pedagogue.
Composition History
Tschaikowski's 'The Nutcracker' ballet gained immense popularity quickly after its premiere, even more so than his earlier ballets 'Swan Lake' or 'Sleeping Beauty' during his lifetime.
Performer Biography
Anna Malikova's international career was launched after winning the 1st prize at the ARD Competition in Munich in 1993, leading to numerous concert appearances in Western countries.
