Grammy winner Daniil Trifonov presents a cycle of Sergei Rachmaninov’s highly virtuosic Piano Concertos.
Recorded with Yannick Nezet-Seguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra, the orchestra most closely associated with the composer with which Rachmaninov himself famously recorded the set of concerti over 80 years ago.
The two-part “Journey with Rachmaninov” begins with DESTINATION RACHMANINOV - DEPARTURE, including the great Piano Concerto No. 2, probably Rachmaninov’s best-loved work, paired with the equally beautiful and rarely performed 4th Concerto. These voluminous works are contrasted with a taste of Rachmaninov the master miniaturist, with solo piano transcriptions of Bach's Partita in E Major.

“This was a performance of a lifetime” LA Times
A "dream team" trio of interpreters for these deeply emotional masterpieces of Russian Romanticism.
Gidon Kremer is celebrating his 70th birthday on (February 27th, 2017) with a special chamber music program together with outstanding young pianist Daniil Trifonov and renowned cellist Giedrė Dirvanauskaitė, both of whom he personally chose for this recording.
It is an album full of correlations and a clear underlying conception. Neither Gidon Kremer nor his musical confederates care about brilliant effects; their concern is always to unveil the truths and messages hidden in the music. “To me”, Kremer explains, “being an artist has always been a calling”. But, he emphasizes, “I don’t want this by any means to sound emotive, because I don’t consider myself important. The music is a source from which I draw energy. I try to convey this energy – with notes, with my repertoire, with my choice of musicians. I also try to go my own way and to find companions – interlocutors – who can help me, and with whom I can converse in the language of music”
He found such companions in Daniil Trifonov and Giedrė Dirvanauskaitė: All three are connected by deep bonds of friendship and an intensive partnership on the concert stage.
For Daniil Trifonov this is another discographic chapter, which he dedicates to his illustrious pianist-composer idol, Rachmaninov, while honouring his friend and mentor, Gidon Kremer. Dirvanauskaitė is a renowned solo cellist in the field of chamber music and has performed with Kremer numerous times as principal cellist of the Kremerata Baltica.
Rachmaninov's two Piano Trios, both bearing the subtitle "Elegiaque" (elegiac), are dark, passionate works, composed under the influence of Tchaikovsky; the first is a short, one-movement piece rich in typically Slavic sentimentality, the second was written as a personal memorial to Tchaikovsky himself, alternately celebrating the life and grieving the loss of the great Russian composer of whom Rachmaninov said "Of all the people and artists whom I have had occasion to meet, Tchaikovsky was the most enchanting. His delicacy of spirit was unique."
Included as a special bonus: Preghiera (Prayer), Fritz Kreisler's touching transcription for violin and piano of the famous theme from Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto.

Grigory Lipmanovich Sokolov born April 18, 1950, is a Russian concert pianist. He is among the most esteemed of living pianists, his repertoire spanning composers from the Baroque period such as Bach, Couperin or Rameau up to Schoenberg and Arapov. He regularly tours Europe, and resides in Italy.

Born less than 20 years apart, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev were two of the greatest composer-pianists of the 20th Century and their instrument played a central role in many of their greatest works. In this recording, virtuoso pianist Denis Matsuev contrasts their second piano concertos, pieces that are both formidable and unmistakably Russian in their own way.
Composed between 1900 and 1901, Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor marked a resurgence in his creative powers after a disastrous premiere to his First Symphony in 1897. Its mix of virtuosity and lyricism has made it one his most celebrated works, and it is often described as the greatest piano concerto ever written.
Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 is a tour de force among piano concertos, and even the composer himself battled anxiety when performing it. The music demands amazing technical prowess, evident in the frenetic scherzo, in which both hands play almost 1500 semiquavers in unison and without a moments pause.

韩裔小提琴家郑京和可说是女性小提琴家中最出类拔萃的佼佼人物，她弓法精准利落，快板明亮爽朗，慢板柔韧致密，
演奏宜古宜今，如此全方位的表现即使男性小提琴家中也罕有其匹。辑中收录之两首小提琴协奏曲均是郑京和的拿手好
戏，分别录制于70年代与80年代，担任协奏的肯培与迪图瓦亦是一时之选，表现较郑京和毫不逊色。录音虽有模拟与数
字之分，而有不同的质感，但就聆赏上效果同样出色，郑京和于演奏中所散发的个人魅力，亦丝毫不见减损。

留声机杂志—
这是神奇、光灿的出色演奏，充满门德尔颂式的优雅，久已未见如此大师级的演奏了。郑京和是位可畏的演奏家，
她的弓法锐利钢劲且精准…布鲁赫作品中的抒情乐段明亮丰润，自始至终均有最出色的表现。

企鹅唱片评鉴—
似火花一般且欢愉，可爱的慢板乐章更是鲜活如歌。

Heifetz's performance is peerless!

Mendelssohn: recorded 16 May 1945.
Bruch: recorded 12 Apr 1942.
Tchaikovsky: recorded 6 Mar 1940.

二十世纪的俄国﹐出现无数伟大的音乐家﹐而米尔斯坦正是风格独特的一位﹐一九零三年出生于敖德萨﹐从奥尔那里传承了伟大的传统﹐更难能可贵的是﹐米尔斯坦的演奏永远保持着高贵的气息。
各位想象一下﹐如果一位演奏家要演奏技巧非常困难﹐困难到会让手指打结的帕格尼尼「奇想曲」。但是按小提琴琴弦的左手﹐有一根受伤﹐只剩下四根手指头﹐那么要怎样才能够克服技巧﹐而且演奏的很完美呢？而我们知道，通常五支手指头都很完整的演奏家，都不见得能够表现的很好，那么这位演奏家要如何克服困难呢？而这位小提琴大师却为我们带来传奇的演奏。
只用左手四根手指头演奏出技巧繁复的「奇想曲」﹐这位大师是谁呢？他就是米尔斯坦。米尔斯坦的最后一场音乐会﹐时间是在一九八六年六月﹐当时米尔斯坦已经八十二岁﹐这么老的年纪﹐再加上手指头受伤﹐但是这位老大师却克服了所有的困难﹐为我们呈现了一场难得的音乐会。而且排出来的曲目﹐都是技巧相当困难﹐意境深远的曲目﹐像贝多芬的第九号小提琴奏鸣曲「克罗采」﹐就是每位杰出的小提琴家都想挑战的曲目﹐贝多芬曾形容过这首曲子﹐是以协奏曲风的形式谱写而成的﹐米尔斯坦在第二乐章「变化多端的行板」中，将繁琐的技巧化作简朴却意境悠远﹐大师晚年的丰采，在这样的音乐当中，展露无遗。
米尔斯坦是1903年出生于敖德萨﹐当时﹐正是俄国动荡不安的年代﹐曾经在伟大的小提琴教师奥尔底下学习﹐奥尔对他的影响很大﹐米尔斯坦在回忆录里曾提过﹐他问过奥尔应该怎么学习演奏小提琴﹐奥尔对他说：「要用头脑﹐而不是用手来演奏。」当时﹐米尔斯坦自己说他并不太了解这句话的意思﹐但是随着年岁增长﹐米尔斯坦对这句话的体会越来越深刻。在贝多芬小提琴奏鸣曲「克罗采」当中最后一个乐章「急板」﹐可以很清楚听到﹐米尔斯坦如何充分表现出奥尔的这句名言。
最后一场音乐会总带着一点悲伤的味道，但是俄国伟大的小提琴大师米尔斯坦的音乐会，我们感受到的，是一种温暖的演出，事前没有人知道，这会是米尔斯坦的最后一次演出，说不定，连他自己本人都没这么想，因为，谁都想为自己的最后一次，划下最完美的句点。但是前面我们提过﹐米尔斯坦在演奏这场音乐会之前﹐左手手指头受伤僵硬﹐原本他打算就此取消音乐会﹐但是还好在旁人的沟通协调下﹐音乐会照常举行﹐而且还透过电视转播﹐制作成录像带。这是米尔斯坦七十三年的演奏生涯﹐唯一一次有做过录像的记录﹐但是米尔斯坦却觉得这次的演出并不太好......因为﹐那是他对完美的要求！但是，比较以往他演奏的同一曲目，确实没像年轻时的凌厉，但是深刻的音乐性，仍旧令人久久难以忘怀。更何况﹐米尔斯坦这次演出的水平﹐仍然是许多演奏家望尘莫及的。
或许是因为手指受伤的关系﹐音乐会结束后没多久﹐米尔斯坦便宣布不再演出。不过﹐还好这场音乐会记录了米尔斯坦演奏生涯的精华﹐其中﹐包括米尔斯坦最重要﹑也最具代表性的巴哈无伴奏小提琴奏鸣曲与组曲﹐米尔斯坦的演奏﹐让我们见识到巴哈音乐的伟大﹐其中更以「夏康」舞曲为代表。
巴哈无伴奏小提琴一直以来就是小提琴演奏家永远的挑战！而米尔斯坦的出，却为我们带来了典范的演出，他的几次录音，一直有着非常高的评价。虽然八十二岁的米尔斯坦所演出的版本﹐比起他黄金时期灌录的无伴奏﹐这份录音显得有些吃力﹐尤其在演奏双弦或三弦时﹐音响有些模糊﹐这主要是因为当时他的左手手指头正受伤﹐但是话说回来﹐有些演奏家﹐即使给他多一倍的手指头﹐也不见得拉得出米尔斯坦八十二岁时的这个版本！而这之间的差别，就是所谓琴匠和艺术家之间的差别！
米尔斯坦的琴声十分独特，其贵族化的质感使听众充满敬畏，这种音质被描述如银铃一般，但由于50年代的录音技术所限，这种声音被表现得过于尖锐刺耳，对于听众来说太具穿透力。
基于这个原因,听众对米尔斯坦的演奏颇有微词，并有些人排斥他，其对音准的表现技巧和准确性被称为海菲兹后第二人，之所以这样是因为他牺牲了一点点声音的表现来抒发其情感。他对于琴弓的驾驭也对此有帮助，被称为「弓之王子」也不足为奇。
米尔斯坦对于揉弦表演不属于20世纪，只有上个世纪小提琴家约阿希姆那一代才有这种技法。通常米尔斯坦演奏时不使用过多的揉弦，他的方式是在高潮时用极高的频率扩展弦的震动，而平时的演奏则多使用滑奏。一般的小提琴手用琴来表现多愁善感，但米尔斯坦则用琴来显示崇高的思想，所以他也被称为「小提琴的贵族」。这种区别语言无法表达，只有听他的演奏才能感受到。

live-recording of Kondrashin's last concert with the Staatskapelle Dresden