Audio
The recordings below are from live performances. For studio recordings, see my releases and find me on Spotify, Amazon etc.
SOLO PIANO
First things first. That means Bach. Contrapunctus I (from The Art of Fugue)
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Then some Chopin: Mazurka op.50 No.2
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and Ballade No.4:
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To me, Brahms Intermezzo in A op.118 No.2 is one of the most profound pieces of music I have ever encountered:
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A movement from Schubert’s Three Piano Pieces D946
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You will surely like these two little gems: Ligeti’s etude The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
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and G.Benjamin’s Meditation on Haydn’s Name
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CONCERTOS
Mozart Piano Concerto K453 III movement (Sinfonietta Riga, A.Zuckermann)
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Brahms Second Piano Concerto is a majestic creation. But there is unusual lightness and humour in its finale. Here it is played in Liepaja Piano Stars Festival 2012 (Liepaja Symphonic Orchestra, A.Lakstigala)
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I am fascinated by 20th century music that brings across real emotions, even if at times uncomfortable. So please listen to this fragment from A. Schnittke’s Concerto for piano and strings (Kremerata Baltica, A.Poga). It has it all – jazz, Russian Orthodox chanting and nuclear explosion…
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CHAMBER MUSIC
One of my favourite recent projects was a program for 2 pianists and 2 percussionists. We even got Joseph Davies to compose a new work specially for this occasion. He used Bulgakov’s Master & Margarita as his theme and titled the work Tableaux vivantes. Listen to the opening movement:
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We also prepared the otherworldly Music for Summer Evening by George Crumb – a 45-minute meditation on prehistoric and post-historic ideas. We had to learn to pluck, strum, and find nodes on piano strings, to shout in a strange language and to play African thumb piano. It is an indescribable and unforgettable work! Here I can offer you only a short episode for the flavour:
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Finally, we fought with the invincible Bartok Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion. I think we conquered it! Here is a good place to mention the names of my fellow warriors in this mission: Florian Mitrea at the other piano, plus Feargus Brennan, Tom Lee and Barnaby Archer (two at a time) at the battalion of percussion.
Listen to a fragment from Bartok’s 1st movement:
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Just for violin and piano, I played a program called Frenchman in America. There, my partner was Paula Sumane. Among other works we also prepared J. Corigliano’s astounding Violin Sonata which I had dreamed for years to perform. Here is an episode form the finale:
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Here is a movement from Raimo Kangro Two-piano Sonata. I hold dear the memory of this performance: I played alongside my teacher Raffi Kharajanyan who taught me for 7 years. He also knew R.Kangro personally, so he suggested to do a whole concert dedicated to Kangro’s music. This recording comes from that event.
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Piet Swerts KLONOS with Arvydas Kazlauskas (sax). Check this out!
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