Rachmaninoff: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3

Album review

Oh no, it’s not the program of this album that’s any kind of news – after all, Rachmaninov’s Second and Third piano concertos have been recorded over and over again by dozen pianists since their very composition – but the interpretation of Russian pianist Yevgeny Sudbin, born in 1980 in Saint-Petersburg. Hailed by “The Daily Telegraph” as ‘potentially one of the greatest pianists of the 21st century’, Yevgeny Sudbin released his first album on BIS in 2005. Since then his recordings have met with critical acclaim and have been regularly featured as “CD of the Month” by the highly choosy BBC Music Magazine or “Editor’s Choice” by the none less choosy Gramophone. Sudbin performs regularly in prestigious venues such as London’s Royal Festival Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Tonhalle Zurich, the Avery Fisher Hall in New York. Recent engagements have included performances with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Gewandhaus Leipzig, and Philharmonia Orchestra. His love of chamber music has resulted in partnerships with musicians including Hilary Hahn, Julia Fischer and the Chilingirian Quartet among others. Appearances at festivals include Aspen, La Roque d’Anthéron, Mostly Mozart and Verbier. In 2016 he was nominated Artist of the Year at the prestigious Gramophone Classical Music Awards. © SM/Qobuz