Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2; String Quartets No. 8 (arr. Giltburg)

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Shostakovich's two Piano Concertos span a period of almost thirty years. The youthful First Piano Concerto is a masterful example of eclecticism, its inscrutable humour and seriousness allied to virtuoso writing enhanced by the rôle for solo trumpet. Written as a birthday present for his son Maxim, the Second Piano Concerto is light-spirited with a hauntingly beautiful slow movement. With the permission of the composer's family, Boris Giltburg has arranged the exceptionally dark, deeply personal and powerful String Quartet No. 8, thereby establishing a major Shostakovich solo piano composition.

Boris Giltburg is one of today's most exciting young pianists, lauded for his 'massive and engulfing technique, supporting interpretations that glow with warmth and poetic commitment' (Gramophone). His Rachmaninov piano disc for Naxos was a Gramophone Recording of the Month, and a BBC Music Magazine Instrumental Choice. The American Record Guide wrote of his playing that he 'plays these pieces better than I can ever remember having heard them. I have never heard a more glorious combination of power and sensitivity.' This disc includes the first recording of pianist Boris Giltburg's transcriptions for solo piano of the Eighth String Quartet and the Waltz from the Second Quartet. Giltburg has received permission from the Shostakovich family to present these transcriptions. Conductor Vasily Petrenko's complete cycle of the Shostakovich symphonies with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra has won magnificent accolades. Of Volume 14 (8.573132) Gramophone wrote; with bold sound and detailed booklet-notes this would be a thrilling investment at any price.' It was also a MusicWeb International Recording of the Year, and Sunday Times Album of the Week, and ClassicsToday.com wrote of it 'This is a sensational performance, the first that truly vies with the classic Rostropovich/Vishnevskaya/Reshetin for supremacy.'