Anastasia Yasko - 20th Century Russian Piano - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Chamber choir Voces Musicales was founded in 1999 by Risto Joost mainly from the students of the Estonian Academy of Music. The repertoire of the choir includes music from renaissance polyphonies to contemporary compositions. Voces Musicales has been a guest performer at festivals in France, Israel and Finland. The choir has premiered the compositions of several contemporary Estonian composers and has cooperated with conductors Neeme Jeñrvi, Olari Elts, Arvo Volmer, Andres Mustonen, and Juri Alperten. In autumn 2009, the choir celebrated their 10th anniversary with a jubilee concert and now presents this live recording. Album Tracks 1. Ein Wallfahrtslied - Chamber Choir Voces Musicales/Tallinn Sinfonietta 2. Magnificat 3. Summa 4. Nunc Dimittis 5. Te Deum

'Although the three selected piano sonatas were all composed in the first half of the 20th century, they convey very different musical impressions. Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich and Kabalevsky - these are three composers, each with their own personalities and distinctive compositional styles. This diversity opens up three unique musical worlds for us. But through the common genre of the piano sonata, we also gain an insight into the musical and cultural development of Russia and the Soviet Union between 1908 and 1946. Dramaturgically, these works take us through the uncertain and turbulent period between revolutions and the First World War, through the tragedies of the Second World War to a hopeful outlook on a 'bright future' in more peaceful times. For me, all three works are among the hidden treasures of the pianistic repertoire.' Anastasia Yasko Album Tracks 1. Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 28 2. Sonata No. 2 Op. 61 3. Sonata No. 3 Op. 46

The Russian pianist Anastasia Yasko plays four important works by Frédéric Chopin which represent the different periods in his oeuvre two polonaises - Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante Op. 22 and Polonaise-Fantasie Op. 61, the last Ballade Op. 52 and the Sonata Op. 58. Inch... The music of Frédéric Chopin has always been very close to my heart. From my first years at music school and later at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, I had a special attitude towards Chopin's music. For me, Chopin is an extremely 'pianistic' composer. He left behind more than 230 works, of which about 200 were composed exclusively for piano. But it is not only the high proportion of piano works that underlines this. In Chopin's works, the piano as an instrument represents an unmistakable, autonomous sound world, without any attempt to exceed the limits of the instrument or even to imitate other instruments. There is an almost immeasurable depth and a wide horizon in his music... One finds here everything that is so valuable for piano playing a beautiful, quasi-vocal melodicism, which shows itself in every voice of his often polyphonic texture; the filigree brilliance of melodic passages; a particularly fine phrasing and pedaling. Chopin is often called a 'poet of the piano', but nevertheless he refrains from any particular program in his works, even despite the Romantic tradition of his time. His music speaks for itself and immerses the listener in a world of fantasy. Chopin composed in many different genres. Mastering both his complex monumental works and pianistically and musically highly intricate miniatures could be a lifetime task for any musician.Inch Album Tracks 1. Andante Spianato Et Grande Polonaise Brillante Op. 22 2. Ballade No. 4 Op. 52 3. Sonata No. 3 Op. 58 4. Polonaise-Fantasie Op. 61