Beethoven: Piano Concertos Volume 1 & 2 Shani Diluka

• 1 I. Allegro con brio 12:55
• 2 II. Adagio 09:33
• 3 III. Rondo (Molto allegro) 06:27
• 4 I. Allegro con brio 14:22
• 5 II. Largo 11:41
• 6 III. Rondo (Allegro scherzando) 09:14
• Total Runtime 01:04:12

Info for Beethoven: Piano Concertos Volume 1 & 2

All great minds possess a relationship with space-time. Beethoven belongs to the category of the timeless and the universal. He manages in his music to establish the core of each of our existences. The core of mine derives from the 'German'masters I have come to know along my way, over many years now: Fleisher the pupil of Schnabel; Marie-Françoise Bucquet the pupil of Kempff; Perahia and Schenker; Valentin Erben of the Alban Berg Quartet – all rooted in the great tradition of and respect for this noble 'Goethean' culture. This extends even to my choice of piano: a Bechstein, in homage to the profound and luminous sound of the mythic recordings by Fischer and Kempff (I play the latter's rarely heard cadenzas). All of this serves to reveal this nexus of tonalities brought to life by Prometheus' fire, these starry skies, and this vision of man that is so fragile and optimistic, particularly in the first two concertos (which we have chosen to place here in chronological order of composition)...

'The core of my interpretation derives from the 'German'masters I have come to know: Fleisher the pupil of Schnabel; Perahia and Schenker; Valentin Erben of the Alban Berg Quartet – all rooted in the great tradition of and respect for this noble 'Goethean' culture. This extends even to my choice of piano: a Bechstein, in homage to the profound and luminous sound of the mythic recordings by Fischer and Kempff (I play the latter's rarely heard cadenzas).' (Shani Diluka)

“Shani Diluka is a young pianist with a lot to say. She coaxes a beautiful sound from her Bechstein, spinning a lustrously beautiful thread through the Adagio of the B flat major Concerto...Diluka's resume mentions Martha Argerich and there is perhaps a touch of the great Argentinian's highly reactive, febrile approach to the music in this reading...Diluka, though, is clearly an artist to watch and her sense of individuality is refreshing” (Gramophone)

Shani Diluka, piano
Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine
Kwamé Ryan, conductor

Shani Diluka
“Referred to as a performer “out of norm” (Le Figaro), blessed with “winged virtuosity” (Classica), Shani Diluka builds a bridge between the Western and Eastern worlds. Born in Monaco to Sri Lankan parents, she was discovered at the age of six through a programme established by Princess Grace of Monaco. Then she was selected to participate in a specialized programme implemented by the Academy of Prince Rainier III in the Monaco Principality, receiving tuition from Dubravka Kovacevich. Later on, she entered the Paris National Conservatory (CNSMDP), from where she graduated with a unanimous first prize, surrounded by professors B. Rigutto, G. Pludermacher, M.-F. Bucquet and J. Cheminé who gave her advice. In 2005, she enrolled in the Lake Como Foundation chaired by Martha Argerich. This was a particularly prolific period during which she met such great masters as Leon Fleisher, Maria Joao Pires, Menahem Pressler and Murray Perahia.

A guest soloist with many orchestras, she regularly collaborates with great conductors such as Lawrence Foster, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Ludovic Morlot, Eivind Gullberg Jensen or Gábor Takács-Nagy and she appears in prestigious venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, the Sala Sao Paulo, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Vienna Konzerthaus as well as the Ravinia festival in Chicago, the Verbier festival and the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. Her name features in several books and CDs intended to the younger generation, released by publishing houses such as Didier, Hachette, La Dolce Volta. She also spends her time working on literary collaborations with major names of the French cinema: Sophie Marceau, Gérard Depardieu, Hippolyte Girardot and Charles Berling.

Her solo recordings of works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schubert and Grieg have won multiple awards (5 Diapasons, Choc de la musique, RTL d’Or, Choice of Arte, Mezzo, Vogue Japan, Gramophone, Fanfare USA, …). Besides, she recorded the official CD of the 2014 Folle Journée entitled “Road 66” and featuring American avant-garde music. She also recorded the album “Symphonie des Oiseaux” and recently the complete works for cello and piano by Beethoven with Valentin Erben, the Alban Berg quartet cellist. All are original and successful projects widely acclaimed by the critics.

The year 2018 was also marked by the release of her first poetry album published by Art3. Her poems were inserted into the list of the French Academy awards. Among her forthcoming projects, Shani is currently working on a new programme entitled “Cosmos”, where she emphasizes the links between Beethoven and Indian music, whose mysticism historically inspired the Viennese composer. This project will lead in 2020 to a co-production with the Philharmonie de Paris for Beethoven’s Year, a documentary that will feature H. Grimaud, N. Freire, F. Say and Daniil Trifonov, among others…

Booklet for Beethoven: Piano Concertos Volume 1 & 2