Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Anna Vinnitskaya

• Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975): Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 35
• 1 I. Allegretto 06:02
• 2 II. Lento 07:40
• 3 III. Moderato 01:27
• 4 IV. Allegro con brio 06:29
• Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102
• 5 I. Allegro 06:49
• 6 II. Andante 05:38
• 7 III. Allegro 05:30
• Concertino for Two Pianos in A Minor, Op. 94
• 8 Concertino for Two Pianos in A Minor, Op. 94 08:54
• Tarantella for Two Pianos
• 9 Tarantella for Two Pianos 01:21
• Total Runtime 49:50

Info for Shostakovich: Piano Concertos

Anna Vinnitskaya has now joined Alpha Classics. Her first recording for the label is devoted to one of her repertories of choice: the concertos of Shostakovich.

‘When I performed the Second Piano Concerto for the first time at the age of eleven, his music seemed very optimistic to me. Only later did I understand everything else that is concealed behind the “façade” of Shostakovich’s music.’

[The Russian pianist reveals two facets of the composer’s music on this disc by juxtaposing the First Piano Concerto in C minor op. 35, an ‘insolent’ composition with a kaleidoscope of atmospheres and stylistic registers (Russian Romanticism, American jazz, neoclassicism) that constantly surprise the listener, and the more traditional Concerto in F major, which radiates youthful high spirits.]

A pupil of Sergey Ossipenko at the Serge Rachmaninoff Conservatory, then of the great Evgeni Koroliov at the Musikhochschule in Hamburg, Anna Vinnitskaya won the Leonard Bernstein Prize, but it was her First Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels in 2007 that launched her career. For this recording, Anna Vinnitskaya is surrounded by partners of the front rank: the famous Kremerata Baltica, regarded as one of the most creative ensembles on today’s musical scene, and the prestigious wind players of the Staatskapelle Dresden.

“Vinnitskaya and Kremerata Baltica collaborate in a particularly alert and responsive performance [of the Second Concerto]: the outer movements are perky and playful, and the well-loved slow movement, taken not as slowly as has become standard…conjures a seductive ease rare in Shostakovich.” (BBC Music Magazine)

Anna Vinnitskaya, piano
Kremerata Baltica

Anna Vinnitskaya
was born in Novorossiysk, Russia. Her parents are both pianists. She received her first piano lessons from her mother at the age of six and played her first public orchestral concert when she was eight years old. After studies at the Sergei Rachmaninoff Conservatory in Rostov-on-Don with Sergey Osipenko, Anna Vinnitskaya began studying with Evgeni Koroliov at the Hamburg University of Music and Theater in 2002. She was appointed professor of piano there herself in 2009.

Anna Vinnitskaya has won several international piano competitions and received numerous awards, most notably first prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels (2007) and the Leonard Bernstein Award of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival (2008).

As a soloist Anna Vinnitskaya regularly performs with renowned orchestras such as the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Royal Phiharmonic Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Radio Symphony Orchestras of Hamburg, Stuttgart, and Berlin, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. She collaborates with conductors Andrey Boreyko, Alan Buribayev, Charles Dutoit, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Marek Janowski, Dimitri Jurowski, Emmanuel Krivine, Louis Langrée, Yoel Levi, Andris Nelsons, Kyrill Petrenko, Krzysztof Urbański, Juraj Valcuha and Gilbert Varga.

In 2009, Anna’s debut album was published on the French label naïve, featuring works by Rachmaninov, Gubaidulina, Medtner, and Prokofiev. This recording was awarded the “Diapason d’Or” as well as the “Choc du Mois” by Classica Magazine. Furthermore, it was nominated for a Midem-Classical Award. In October 2010 Anna Vinnitskaya’s first orchestral CD followed. As soloist of the Deutsches Sinfonieorchester Berlin conducted by Gilbert Varga she recorded Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major. This album earned her an ECHO Klassik award in October 2011. In March 2012 Anna Vinnitskaya presented her third CD with several masterpieces of Maurice Ravel such as „Miroirs“, and „Gaspard de la nuit“. It was immediately awarded the “Diapason d’Or” award.

Anna Vinnitskaya´s new recording was released he label Alpha Classic in summer 2015. Her first recording for this label is devoted to one of her repertories of choice: the concertos of Shostakovich. For this recording, Anna Vinnitskaya was surrounded by partners of the front rank: the famous Kremerata Baltica, regarded as one of the most creative ensembles on todays musical scene, and the prestigious wind players of the Staatskapelle Dresden.

Booklet for Shostakovich: Piano Concertos