Tchaikovsky & Grieg: Piano Concertos Denis Kozhukhin

• 1 I. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso - Allegro con spirito 20:53
• 2 II. Andantino semplice - Prestissimo - Tempo I 07:04
• 3 III. Allegro con fuoco 07:11
• 4 I. Allegro molto moderato 12:46
• 5 II. Adagio 06:14
• 6 III. Allegro moderato molto e marcato 10:12
• Total Runtime 01:04:20

Info for Tchaikovsky & Grieg: Piano Concertos

This new PENTATONE release of Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23 marks the start of the musical collaboration between the label and the young Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin. Kozhukhin established himself on the international concert scene after winning prizes at the 2006 Leeds International Piano Competition, as well as the 2010 Queen Elisabeth Competition. ‘I am thrilled to have the opportunity to record repertoire that has played a significant part in my musical life’ says Kozhukhin about this recording, made with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, conducted by Vassily Sinaisky.

Kozhukhin chose two concertos that against all odds, both turned out to become “virtuoso warhorses”.Grieg is known as a composer with a focus on the more intimate musical genres. His first attempt to compose in a more extensive musical genre, resulted in a symphony of which Grieg himself said it “should never be performed...”. His other attempt however, the Piano Concerto in A minor, brought him world-wide success.

Until Tchaikovsky started writing his first piano concerto, piano music had only been of secondary interest to him. As he himself put it: “Basically, I am inflicting violence upon myself by forcing my brain to come up with piano passages”. After seeking professional advice on the composition with his friend and excellent pianist Nikolaj Rubinstein, the latter basically massacred the piece and refused to première it. Fortunately Tchaikovsky then decided to dedicate it to German pianist Hans von Bülow, who later on gave it its triumphant première. Nowadays these two concertos rank among the most magical in the piano repertoire.

Denis Kozhukhin, piano
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin
Vassily Sinaisky, conductor

Denis Kozhukhin
Kozhukhin’s playing is characterised by an extraordinary technical mastery balanced by a sharp intelligence, calm maturity and wisdom. Kozhukhin has that rare and special gift of creating an immediate and compelling emotional connection with his audience.

Since winning First Prize at the 2010 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, Kozhukhin has quickly established a formidable reputation and has already appeared at many of the world’s most prestigious festivals and concert halls including the Verbier Festival, where he won the Prix d’Honneur in 2003, Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano, Berliner Philharmonie, Kölner Philharmonie, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Rheingau Music Festival, Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival, Carnegie Hall, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Munich Herkulessaal, Rotterdam De Doelen, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Auditorio Nacional Madrid, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Milan, Théâtre du Châtelet and Auditorium du Louvre Paris.

In the 2015/16 season and beyond, Kozhukhin performs with orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Philharmonia, DSO Berlin, Frankfurt Radio, Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Pittsburgh Symphony, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR and Brussels Philharmonic.

The 2014/15 season included performances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Morlot, Philadelphia Orchestra/Denève, BBC Symphony Orchestra/Oramo, Mariinsky Orchestra/Gergiev, Houston Symphony Orchestra/Hrusa, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic/Gimeno and Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo/Alsop. Kozhukhin also toured to China with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and made his debut with an ensemble comprising soloists from the West Eastern Divan Orchestra under Barenboim at the Salzburg Festival and at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

As a recitalist, highlights of this season and beyond include returns to the Concertgebouw’s Master Pianists Series, Cologne Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall, Auditorium du Louvre in Paris and London’s International Piano Series, as well as debuts at the Lucerne Festival, Vienna Konzerthaus and the Boston Celebrity Series.

In September 2015 Denis Kozhukhin signed an exclusive recording contract with Pentatone. His first CD recording for Pentatone of Tchaikovsky Concerto No 1 and the Grieg Concerto with RSB Berlin and Vassily Sinaisky will be released in April 2016. His first solo recital disc under this contract will be of Brahms. Kozhukhin’s debut recording in 2013 was of Prokofiev’s Piano Sonatas Nos 6, 7 and 8 and he subsequently released a CD of Haydn Sonatas in September 2014 (both for Onyx Classics).

Born in Nizhni Novgorod, Russia, in 1986 into a family of musicians, Denis Kozhukhin began his piano studies at the age of four with his mother. As a boy, he attended the Balakirev School of Music where he studied under Natalia Fish. From 2000 to 2007, Kozhukhin was a pupil at the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid learning with Dimitri Bashkirov and Claudio Martinez-Mehner.

Upon graduating, he received his diploma personally from the Queen of Spain and was named best student in his year and twice best chamber group with his own Cervantes Trio. After his studies in Madrid, Kozhukhin was invited to study at the Piano Academy at Lake Como where he received tuition from amongst others Fou Ts’ong, Stanislav Yudenitch, Peter Frankl, Boris Berman, Charles Rosen and Andreas Staier. He completed his studies with Kirill Gerstein in Stuttgart.

Kozhukhin is a committed chamber musician and has worked with amongst others, Leonidas Kavakos, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, Janine Jansen, Vadim Repin, Julian Rachlin, the Jerusalem Quartet, the Pavel Haas Quartet, Radovan Vlatkovic, Jörg Widmann and Alisa Weilerstein.

Booklet for Tchaikovsky & Grieg: Piano Concertos