| 1 CD |
€ 19.95
|
Preorder |
| Label Evil Penguin |
UPC 0608917725520 |
Catalogue number EPRC 0068 |
Release date 10 January 2025 |
Once the greatness of Beethoven’s output is set aside and we delve deep into the emotional essence of this music, we realise there is an abundance of expressive features that lie hidden between the lines. Beethoven wrote very precise directions, extremely advanced for his times, yet it is clear that his indications alone are certainly not enough to bring his music to life. There are so many shades of piano, as much as there are variations in the ways an artist creates the impression of crescendos, sotto voce and infinite ways in which we conceive the effect of mit inningsten Empfindung. The Beethoven's scores are rife with recurring themes, intricate motivic relations, that wait to be discovered, fragments of melodies that repeat across shorter or longer spans of music. An artist must use these recognisable elements, infuse them with a certain individual expression, to construct the narrative, a psychological journey about becoming and the multitude of tormented and life affirming emotional states that are there as part of the transformative process.
We speak of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas by comparing them with his orchestral or string quartet music. It is for this very reason that I have included Tausig's rarely played arrangement of Beethoven's String Quartet No. 13 here, in my piano solo album. I like to imagine that Beethoven composed parts of the string quartet No. 13 seated at his piano, the topography of the piano being at the very inception of these phrases intended for the strings. The middle section is reminiscent of the Arietta of his Piano Sonata in A flat major op. 110, bearing numerous similarities in the mood suggested by the key of A flat minor, similar idiosyncratic articulation instructions appear in the melody too. This short piano arrangement, Kavatine, is an epilogue to the serenity of op. 110 but is also the path leading to the unfathomable harmonies of op. 111.
Born into a family of musicians from Bucharest, Cristian Sandrin has been surrounded by classical music all his life. His frequent visits to the historic Romanian Atheneum concert hall and his attendances at the prestigious Enescu Festival shaped his musical aspirations from early childhood. Not surprising, years later, he would have his own debut at the Atheneum at the age of 13.
Cristian is an artist engaging with a multitude of repertoire, but especially devoted to the Classical and Romantic repertoire. His passion for Mozart's piano concertos led him to direct from the keyboard several concertos during Summer Festivals at the Royal Academy of Music, as well as for the official opening of the Angela Burgess Recital Hall. From 2018–2020 he was privileged to tour the UK as an artist of the Countess of Munster Recital Scheme. Additionally, Cristian is a scholarship holder of the Imogen Cooper Music Trust benefiting from her unique one-to-one guidance and mentorship since 2017.
In 2021 Cristian travelled to Romania for his debut with the acclaimed George Enescu Philharmonic performing Mozart's K503 Piano Concerto in C major at the country's foremost music venue: The Romanian Atheneum - the same temple of music from Cristian's childhood. Since 2020, Cristian has performed challenging solo programmes including Beethoven's last three sonatas, Bach's Goldberg Variations in famous venues across Europe from Berlin's Konzerthaus, Radio Hall in Bucharest to London's LSO St Luke's - recitals that have left audiences and critics spellbound by the Cristian's mature interpretations.
As Artistic Director of the Kettner Concerts series in London, Cristian crafts engaging solo and chamber music programs that invite audiences to engage with broad landscapes of classical music. His latest project, premiering at St John's Smith Square in February 2025, offers an inventive take on Bach's Goldberg Variations: The New Goldberg Variations project interweaves three newly commissioned variation by up-and-coming composers into Bach's original work, creating a special dialogue between tradition and contemporary creativity.
Cristian collaborates often as a soloist with the Petersfield Festival Orchestra, the Oxford Sinfonia, the Bournemouth Bach Choir Orchestra as well as orchestras from his native Romania: the Bacau State Philharmonic, Sibiu State Philharmonic, Ramnicu-Valcea State Philharmonic, Oltenia Philharmonic and Bucharest Symphony Orchestra.
Play album
