Lukas Vondracek, Tomas Brauner, Prague Symphony Orchestra - Rachmaninoff: Complete Piano Concertos, Paganini Rhapsody (2023) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 1: I. Vivace
02. Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 1: II. Andante
03. Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 1: III. Allegro vivace
04. Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Minor, Op. 40: I. Allegro vivace
05. Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Minor, Op. 40: II. Largo
06. Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Minor, Op. 40: III. Allegro vivace II
07. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
08. Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18: I. Moderato
09. Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18: II. Adagio sostenuto
10. Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18: III. Allegro scherzando
11. Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30: I. Allegro ma non tanto
12. Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30: II. Intermezzo. Adagio
13. Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30: III. Finale. Alla breve

Lukáš Vondráček and Sergei Rachmaninov. Scarcely do we encounter a connection between a musician and a composer so close, strong and energising. When, at the age of 15, Vondráček was invited by Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Czech Philharmonic to perform Rachmaninov’s Concerto No. 1, he had garnered international acclaim at numerous concerts and competitions. Just a year later, the pianist toured the USA and appeared at Carnegie Hall. At the age of 29, he triumphed at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels (2016), performing Rachmaninov’s Concerto No. 3, conducted by Marin Alsop. Love at first listen, Rachmaninov has become his flagship composer: “Besides affording the opportunity to showcase one’s technique, his music impresses by being contrastive and having an immense dynamic range ... What more could a person keen on tone colour wish? It’s sheer beauty!” Lukáš Vondráček has been invited to perform Rachmaninov’s concertos by the most prominent orchestras and conductors worldwide. The present album is one of the few sweet fruits of the Covid pandemic, which cleared the soloist’s otherwise jam-packed diary and afforded him peaceful time for recording. The booklet contains an interview with Lukáš Vondráček, within which he provides an account of his ample experience of and great affinity to Rachmaninov. Yet the most powerful confession is the recording itself, made with the superb Prague Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Tomáš Brauner, capturing performances rendering every detail, teeming with emotion, colour and contrast. Sheer beauty indeed!

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