Goran Filipec - Liszt: Piano Favourites - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

As with the first volume in this series (GP767), Blagoje Bersa's piano works are organized according to their character and tonality rather than chronologically. They include elements of transcription drawing on Mozart and Beethoven but also characterful barcarolles that evoke Italian music, a taut and witty Bizarre Serenade, a simple but affecting Mélancolie, and an invitation to a Viennese ballroom in the Valzer, Op. 3. GORAN FILIPEC, laureate of the Grand Prix du Disque of the Ferenc Liszt Society of Budapest for his 2016 recording of Liszt's Paganini Studies (Naxos 8.573458), was born in Rijeka (Croatia) in 1981. He studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne and the Zagreb Academy of Music. He is a prize winner of several piano competitions including the Premio Mario Zanfi 'Franz Liszt', Concurso de Parnassos, the José Iturbi International Music Competition and the Gabala International Piano Competition. Filipec performs regularly in Europe, the United States, South America and Japan. He made his debut at Carnegie Hall in 2006, followed by performances in venues including the Mariinsky Theatre, the Auditorium di Milano, Minato Mirai Hall, the Philharmonie de Paris and the Palace of Arts in Budapest. With the award by the Liszt Society, Goran Filipec joined the list of prestigious laureates of the Grand Prix such as Vladimir Horowitz, György Cziffra, Alfred Brendel, Claudio Arrau, Zoltán Kocsis and Maurizio Pollini.

The extreme delicacy and finesse of Chopin's pianistic style was unusual in an era when star pianists such as Liszt and Anton Rubinstein were developing more virtuosic and experimental effects. It led some performers of the day to adapt Chopin's works to suit the context of their time. Goran Filipec has traced the practices of these pianists to fashion a programme of Chopin's works performed in the spirit of the 'grand style'. A digital EP featuring four bonus tracks is also available to stream and download (9.70383). Album Tracks 1. Prelude No. 25 in C Sharp minor, Op. 45 2. Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23 3. Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20 4. 24 Preludes, Op. 28- No. 23 in F Major 5. Ballade No. 2 in F Major, Op. 38 6. Scherzo No. 2 in B Flat minor, Op. 31 7. 24 Preludes, Op. 28 - No. 17 in a Flat Major 8. Ballade No. 3 in a Flat Major, Op. 47 9. Scherzo No. 3 in C Sharp minor, Op. 39 10. 24 Preludes, Op. 28 - No. 1 in C Major 11. Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52 12. Scherzo No. 4 in E Major, Op. 54

Volume 9 of this series presents two substantial works. Bartók's ambitious late-Romantic Piano Sonata, Op.19, BB 12, is an early work, heard in Goran Filipec's performing edition, prepared from the manuscript. Zongoraiskola or 'Piano Method', was devised in collaboration with Sandor Reschofsky who contributed the exercises.