Credits:

Peter Donohoe

Description:

This album by British pianist Peter Donohoe commemorates the 150th anniversary of Rachmaninoff’s birth. The album opens with “Variations on a Theme by Chopin,” conceived after the success of his Piano Concerto No. 2, followed by Chopin’s Sonata No. 2, which Rachmaninoff performed at his graduation recital in 1892 and at his last public recital six weeks before his death, as well as Chopin’s Sonata No. 3, which was also Rachmaninoff’s favorite sonata, and Donohoe will unravel the connection between the two composers. As Russian music critic Marina Frolova-Walker said, “Rachmaninoff is inconceivable without Chopin,” and this is a piece that reminds us that Rachmaninoff has cherished Chopin’s works all his life. Naxos Japan