Sergei Dukachev - Russian Piano Music 7: Prokofiev - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The production with tenor Markus Schäfer and his accompanist Mihai Ungureanu, which bundles works by three important Romanian composers, is intended as a musical homage to Dinu Lipatti (1917-1950), who died much too early and whose unbroken fame as a brilliant pianist makes it easy to forget that he was also an important composer. Dinu Lipatti is a unique figure in the pantheon of pianists. His international fame is due almost exclusively to the widespread distribution of recorded output that was in the words of his producer Walter Legge, Inchsmall in output but of the purest gold.Inch When Lipatti died of Hodgkin's Lymphoma at the age of 33 in December 1950, he left behind little more than three and a half hours of recordings for EMI's Columbia tag. Since that time, those recordings have been published in the catalogue the world over and gradually supplemented by a handful of highly prized unpublished concert and broadcast performances. Six decades after Lipatti's death, the search for more examples of his playing continues, and indeed more treasures are coming to light.

Our acclaimed series continues with one of the acknowledged masters of Romantic music, Sergei Rachmaninov. This album is taken from live performances in England between 1999 and 2005 by Russian pianist Sergei Dukachev and includes some favourite Preludes and Etudes, the Second Sonata and the relatively rarely-heard Variations. Dukachev is gaining an enthusiastic following in the UK as well as in his native Russia, and the brilliance of these concert performances demonstrates why.

The Ukrainian violin virtuoso Solomiya Ivakhiv presents a selection of Ukrainian Christmas carols arranged for violin and orchestra by Bohdan Kryvopust - the much-lauded composer whose works have been performed internationally. Accompanying Ivakhiv in these world premiere recordings is the Lviv National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Serhii Khorovets.