Sergei Rachmaninoff: Complete Piano Works, Vol. 1 Artur Pizarro

• Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943): Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42
• 1 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: I. Theme (Andante) 00:58
• 2 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: II. Variation 1 (Poco più mosso) 00:42
• 3 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: III. Variation 2 (L’istesso tempo) 00:40
• 4 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: IV. Variation 3 (Tempo di Menuetto) 00:46
• 5 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: V. Variation 4 (Andante) 00:58
• 6 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: VI. Variation 5 (Allegro) 00:19
• 7 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: VII. Variation 6 (L’istesso tempo) 00:21
• 8 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: VIII. Variation 7 (Vivace) 00:27
• 9 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: IX. Variation 8 (Adagio misterioso) 00:56
• 10 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: X. Variation 9 (Un poco più mosso) 00:53
• 11 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: XI. Variation 10 (Allegro scherzando) 00:36
• 12 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: XII. Variation 11 (Allegro vivace) 00:25
• 13 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: XIII. Variation 12 (L’istesso tempo) 00:40
• 14 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: XIV. Variation 13 (Agitato) 00:33
• 15 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: XV. Intermezzo (A tempo rubato) 01:13
• 16 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: XVI. Variation 14 (Andante) 00:57
• 17 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: XVII. Variation 15 (L’istesso tempo) 01:29
• 18 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: XVIII. Variation 16 (Allegro vivace) 00:32
• 19 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: XIX. Variation 17 (Meno mosso) 01:07
• 20 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: XX. Variation 18 (Allegro con brio) 00:32
• 21 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: XXI. Variation 19 (Più mosso. Agitato) 00:32
• 22 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: XXII. Variation 20 (Più mosso) 00:58
• 23 Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42: XXIII. Coda (Andante) 01:25
• Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 36:
• 24 Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 36: I. Allegro agitato 09:19
• 25 Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 36: II. Non allegro 06:44
• 26 Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 36: III. Allegro molto 06:09
• 6 Moments musicaux, Op. 16:
• 27 6 Moments musicaux, Op. 16: I. Andantino (B-flat minor) 07:28
• 28 6 Moments musicaux, Op. 16: II. Allegretto (E-flat minor) 03:10
• 29 6 Moments musicaux, Op. 16: III. Andante cantabile (B minor) 07:42
• 30 6 Moments musicaux, Op. 16: IV. Presto (E minor) 03:43
• 31 6 Moments musicaux, Op. 16: V. Adagio sostenuto (D-flat major) 04:12
• 32 6 Moments musicaux, Op. 16: VI. Maestoso (C major) 05:38
• 7 Morceaux de Salon, Op. 10:
• 33 7 Morceaux de Salon, Op. 10: I. Nocturne 05:00
• 34 7 Morceaux de Salon, Op. 10: II. Valse 03:44
• 35 7 Morceaux de Salon, Op. 10: III. Barcarolle 04:29
• 36 7 Morceaux de Salon, Op. 10: IV. Mélodie 04:12
• 37 7 Morceaux de Salon, Op. 10: V. Humoresque 03:26
• 38 7 Morceaux de Salon, Op. 10: VI. Romance 04:55
• 39 7 Morceaux de Salon, Op. 10: VII. Mazurka 05:39
• 9 Études-tableaux, Op. 39:
• 40 9 Études-tableaux, Op. 39: I. Allegro agitato (C minor) 02:58
• 41 9 Études-tableaux, Op. 39: II. Lento assai (A minor) 06:40
• 42 9 Études-tableaux, Op. 39: III. Allegro molto (F-sharp minor) 03:18
• 43 9 Études-tableaux, Op. 39: IV. Allegro assai (B minor) 03:56
• 44 9 Études-tableaux, Op. 39: V. Appassionato (E-flat minor) 06:05
• 45 9 Études-tableaux, Op. 39: VI. Allegro (A minor) 02:50
• 46 9 Études-tableaux, Op. 39: VII. Lento lugubre (C minor) 07:43
• 47 9 Études-tableaux, Op. 39: VIII. Allegro moderato (D minor) 04:07
• 48 9 Études-tableaux, Op. 39: IX. Tempo di marcia (D major) 03:52
• Total Runtime 02:24:58

Info for Sergei Rachmaninoff: Complete Piano Works, Vol. 1

Described as a "poet amongst pianists", the renowned Portuguese artist Artur Pizarro makes his debut for Odradek Records with the first of three 2-CD sets presenting the complete solo piano works of Sergei Rachmaninoff.

A former winner of the Leeds Piano Competition - which brought him to international acclaim in 1990 - Pizarro offers his listeners a lifetime of love for, and experience with, this music which speaks, as he says, "of the endless variety of the human condition". Tracing Rachmaninoff's development as a composer from the early Nocturnes and his encounters with Tchaikovsky as a teenage student of Nikolai Zverev in the 1880s, to the so-called 'Corelli Variations' of the 1930s, this landmark release shines a new light on every aspect of this remarkable oeuvre.

"The sheer inventiveness and beauty of the music is really amazing," Artur Pizarro told Pianist magazine. "The rhythmic and harmonic language is so rich, and very few composers wrote so well for the piano." On this first volume, from the monumental passion of the Piano Sonata No 2, via the Études-tableaux, Op.39, to the tender lyricism of many of the lesser-known miniatures, Pizarro imbues every page of this music with the fire and feeling for melodic contour for which his playing has become so admired.

"Pizarro produces a gorgeous tone from his chosen Yamaha CF6...and the 20 brief variations are as lovely as I've heard...he prefers to play down the bravura aspects of this most intimate of the composer's late works. There is no lack of bravura in Pizarro's resonant, lucidly articulated account of the Sonata." (Gramophone Magazine)

"The playing is powerful, but always sonorous and thoughtful." (Sunday Times)

"the enthusiasm of the playing more than compensates for the occasional moments when it all gets a bit too strident." (The Guardian)

Artur Pizarro, piano

Artur Pizarro
Born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1968, Artur Pizarro gave his first public performance at the age of three and made his television début on Portuguese television at the age of four. He had been introduced to the instrument by his maternal grandmother, pianist Berta da Nóbrega, and her piano-duo partner, Campos Coelho who was a student of Vianna da Motta, Ricardo Viñes and Isidor Philipp. From 1974 to 1990 Artur studied with Sequeira Costa who had also been a student of Vianna da Motta and of Mark Hamburg, Edwin Fischer, Marguerite Long and Jacques Février. This distinguished lineage immersed Artur in the tradition of the ‘Golden Age’ of pianism and gave him a broad education in both the German and French piano schools and repertoire. During a brief interruption of his studies in the USA, Artur also studied with Jorge Moyano in Lisbon, and in Paris worked with Aldo Ciccolini, Géry Moutier and Bruno Rigutto.

Artur won first prizes in the 1987 Vianna da Motta Competition, the 1988 Greater Palm Beach Symphony Competition and won first prize at the 1990 Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, which marked the beginning of an international concert career.

Artur Pizarro performs internationally in recital, chamber music and with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Philippe Entremont, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Sir Andrew Davis, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Yuri Temirkanov, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Ilan Volkov, Franz Welser- Most, Tugan Sokhiev, Yakov Kreizberg, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Libor Pešek, Vladimir Jurowski, Ion Marin, John Wilson and the late Sir Charles Mackerras.

Artur is an active chamber musician and has performed at chamber music festivals throughout the world. Artur Pizarro has recorded extensively for Collins Classics, Hyperion Records, Linn Records, Brilliant Classics, Klara, Naxos, Danacord, Odradek Records and Phoenix Edition.

Artur Pizarro has received various awards from his native Portugal for services to classical music and culture including the Portuguese Press Award, the Portuguese Society of Authors award, the Medal of Culture of the City of Funchal and the Medal of Cultural Merit from the Portuguese Government. Artur Pizarro is currently teaching piano and chamber music at the Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra in Lisbon.

This album contains no booklet.