Piano Concerto No. 3, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Irina Georgieva

• Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943): Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43:
• 1Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Introduction. Allegro vivace - Variation I (Allegro precedente)00:28
• 2Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Tema. L'istesso tempo00:19
• 3Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 2. L'istesso tempo00:19
• 4Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 3. L'istesso tempo00:26
• 5Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 4. Piu vivo00:30
• 6Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 5. Tempo precedente00:30
• 7Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 6. L'istesso tempo01:22
• 8Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 7. Meno mosso, a tempo moderato01:27
• 9Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 8. Tempo I00:33
• 10Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 9. L'istesso tempo00:30
• 11Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 10. Poco marcato00:54
• 12Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 11. Moderato01:42
• 13Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 12. Tempo di minuetto01:19
• 14Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 13. Andante cantabile00:30
• 15Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 14. L'istesso tempo00:46
• 16Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 15. Più vivo scherzando01:10
• 17Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 16. Allegretto01:59
• 18Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 17. Allegretto01:49
• 19Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 18. Andante cantabile03:03
• 20Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 19. A tempo vivace00:27
• 21Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 20. Un poco più vivo00:36
• 22Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 21. Un poco piu vivo00:25
• 23Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 22. Un poco piu vivo (Alla breve)01:44
• 24Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 23. L'istesso tempo00:58
• 25Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43: Variation 24. A tempo un poco meno mosso01:30
• Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30:
• 26Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30: I. Allegro ma non tanto17:38
• 27Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30: II. Intermezzo. Adagio10:13
• 28Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30: III. Finale. Alla breve14:43
• Total Runtime01:07:50

Info for Piano Concerto No. 3, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Former master student of Rudolf Buchbinder, Irina Georgieva performs regularly in Switzerland, Italy, France, England, Morocco, the Balkans and recently in South America. For her debut with Prospero Classical, she has chosen her favourite composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. Together with the Basel Symphony Orchestra, she has recorded two of his best-known works. The Third Piano Concerto in D minor and the incredibly virtuosic «Paganini Variations».

The cycle of Chopin’s Preludes, Op. 28 and the 2 posthumous preludes No. 25 in C-sharp minor, Op. 45 and No. 26 in A-flat major, B. 86 are based on contrasts. Contrasts of expression, dynamics, rhythm and colour, revealing romanticism in its full element of emotional instability, but at the same time the cycle reveals a coherence which comes from the fact that the preludes have been built around the twenty-four keys, twelve major and twelve minor, chasing the ideas of fullness which are present in Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, that inspired Chopin during that winter. The fact that his musical idols were Bach and Mozart perhaps explains his classic quality ever present in his ultra-Romantic music. Chopin's first Prelude in C Major, for example, clearly mirrors the C Major Prelude of Bach's Well Tempered Clavier and on the other hand Chopin’s counterpoint, which is so Bachian, revealing sometimes elements that bring back Mozart and his way of designing the melodic lines of his operas where the sopranos sing melodies as if they were being transported by the wind.

Irina Georgieva, piano
Sinfonieorchester Basel
Sascha Goetzel, conductor (tracks 1-25)
Pablo González, conductor (tracks 26-28)

Irina Georgieva
was born in Sofia in 1978. It is also the capital of Bulgaria where she takes her first steps as a pianist: At the age of 6, she gives her first public concert. Two years later, she enters stage for her first solo concert and wins her first international prize. Another year later, she plays Beethoven’s 1st Piano Concerto as a soloist with orchestra.

In 1997, Irina Georgieva is admitted to the Sofia Conservatory. For the first time, she works with Prof. Marina Kapazinskaya, who will accompany her years later in her master’s studies. Already during her studies, Irina Georgieva performs as a solo pianist with all major orchestras in Bulgaria. Apart from that, she works unwaveringly on her artistic development and takes part in numerous master classes, amongst others with piano luminaries such as Lazar Berman and Dmitry Bashkirov.

In 2001, she leaves Bulgaria. A scholarship from the “Gerber-ten Bosch” foundation takes her to the Basel Music Academy and into Rudolf Buchbinder’s master class. Looking back, the time with Buchbinder is probably the most important step in Irina Georgieva’s career. For she not only completes her concert and soloist diploma with distinction. In addition, she develops decisively and gradually becomes the artist she is today. ...

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