Idil Biret; Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin; Boston Symphony Orchestra; Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra; Heinz Rogner; Erich Leinsdorf; Alexander Dimitreev - Piano Concerto No. 3 & Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini 2CD

Virgile Barthe, winner of the 2025 Guitar Foundation of America Competition, presents works ranging from the Baroque to the 21st century, performed with his impeccable virtuosity and artistry. This recital takes us from arrangements of Domenico Scarlatti’s deeply expressive sonatas and Buxtehude’s brilliant Suite, to the lyrical Songs without Words of Mendelssohn and the haunting Music of Memory by Nicholas Maw. The album closes with Dušan Bogdanović’s Third Sonata, a truly virtuoso piece with its quotes from Stravinsky and musical influences from the Balkans, jazz, and the Renaissance. ======== Richard Strauss summed up his two-act opera Intermezzo as a ‘bourgeois comedy with symphonic interludes’. The soprano role of Christine, with its shimmering cantilenas, represents Strauss’s wife Pauline, while the successful Kapellmeister Robert Storch serves as Richard Strauss himself in a domestic drama that was avant-garde for its time but now resonates with the accessibility of today’s reality shows. This production from the Deutsche Oper Berlin was acclaimed for its lush orchestral sound and superbly characterful cast, led by a formidable central performance from Maria Bengtsson. ======== Famous for his role as keyboard player in rock band Genesis and as a solo artist, Tony Banks was always fascinated by the idea of writing orchestral music. His success in composing for films led to the acclaimed Seven – A Suite for Orchestra. The intense orchestral sound pictures in Seven, Six, and Five rank among some of Banks's most accomplished recordings, marrying experimentation with form and structure, and a trademark melodic character that powerfully conveys both melancholy and joy. ======== On 22 November 1963, at Idil Biret's US debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf, she played Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Concerto. The concert was scheduled for 2.00 pm. The tragic death of President Kennedy was announced during the concert. Despite the electrified atmosphere, which can be sensed in the recording, the audience, many in tears, then heard a stunning performance of the concerto, which was broadcast live to the nation from Boston and rebroadcast the next day from New York – “There was a buoyant quality to Idil Biret’s playing, a great warmth of tone was in no way dispelled by her technical skill... she gave us power without a bang, emotion without a sentimental tear. There is no question that Miss Biret is one of the most extraordinary musicians, and many of her listeners testified to her artistry by giving her a standing ovation.”