Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 & Youth Symphony - Silvestrov: The Messenger Anna Fedorova, Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen & Modestas Pitrenas

• Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943): Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30:
• 1Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30: I. Allegro ma non tanto19:44
• 2Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30: II. Intermezzo. Adagio12:10
• 3Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30: III. Finale. Alla breve16:00
• Symphony in D Minor "Youth Symphony":
• 4Rachmaninoff: Symphony in D Minor "Youth Symphony"12:05
• Valentin Silvestrov (b. 1937): The Messenger:
• 5Silvestrov: The Messenger08:48
• Total Runtime01:08:47

Info for Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 & Youth Symphony - Silvestrov: The Messenger

Anna Fedorova and the Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen under Modestas Pitrėnas complete their critically acclaimed cycle of the Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos with this recording of his Third Piano Concerto. Anna Fedorova considers Rachmaninoff’s Third one of the grandest concertos ever written, stating "it has incredible compelling power and demands mobilization of all the physical, creative and emotional abilities from both soloist and orchestra. At the same time this composition is very romantic by its nature, sort of a lyrical confession of the composer”. BBC Music Magazine has given 5-star reviews to all previous Fedorova/Rachmaninoff recordings, noting that "Ukrainian pianist Anna Fedorova is a remarkable artist. The clear thinking and feeling behind these Rachmaninoff concerto interpretations are refreshing indeed”.

As a post scriptum to this album, Anna Fedorova performs The Messenger for solo piano written by Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov. It is a musical meditation, a thought for her country and fellow Ukrainians, a message of light, peace and hope for the future.

Anna Fedorova, piano
Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen
Modestas Pitrenas, conductor

Anna Fedorova
From an early age, the Ukrainian pianist Anna Fedorova showed an innate musical maturity and amazing technical abilities. Her live recording of Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto has over 37 million views on YouTube and is highly acclaimed by critics and world-renowned musicians. She regularly performs at the world’s most prestigious concert halls such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, New York's Carnegie Hall & Lincoln Center, Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Tonhalle Zürich, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo, and London’s Barbican Centre & Royal Albert Hall.

As a soloist, Anna Fedorova has performed with many wonderful orchestras such as the Philharmonia Orchestra, Verbier Festival Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony, Yomiuri Orchestra, Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, Utah Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and the Netherlands Philharmonic. Nicknamed the ‘house pianist’ (Telegraaf) of the Concertgebouw, Anna Fedorova has given over 45 concerts in this prestigious concert hall in Amsterdam, often live broadcasted. She is a regular guest at leading music festivals such as Verbier and Menuhin Festivals in Switzerland, Stift Music Festival in the Netherlands, Festival de Sintra in Portugal, and Ravinia Festival in the US. In July 2022, Anna performed with the Verbier Festival Orchestra under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda at the opening of the Verbier Festival. And a week later, she made her debut at the international piano festival La Roque d’Anthéron with a solo recital, to much acclaim in both local and international press.

On 6 March 2022 she was one of the first to initiate a charity concert to raise money for the victims of the war in Ukraine, together with her musician friends, Interartists Amsterdam and the Concertgebouw. Having raised over 100,000 Euros on that first night, she has continued to perform in benefit concerts for Ukraine ever since. During the summer of 2022, she was the solo pianist with the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, performing under the baton of Keri-Lynn Wilson at Teatr Wielki–Polish National Opera, Royal Albert Hall London (televised BBC Proms concert), Munich, Chorégies d’Orange, Konzerthaus Berlin, Edinburgh Festival, Summer at Snape Maltings, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Lincoln Centre New York (twice) and Kennedy Centre Washington. The New York Times noted that “The pianist Anna Fedorova was a sensitive, poetic soloist in Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, a nod to the Polish support for the Freedom Orchestra project.”

In 2018, Anna Fedorova signed with Channel Classics Records. By the beginning of 2023, she will have released three solo piano albums, four chamber music albums, and all of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concertos with the Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen under Modestas Pitrenas. BBC Music Magazine gave a 5-star review for the first album with Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 1, Preludes, and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. BBC Music Magazine also published a 5-star review for Anna Fedorova’s rendition of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 4, noting that “the clear thinking and feeling behind these Rachmaninoff concerto interpretations are refreshing indeed: this certainly isn't just yet another 'Rach 2'.” It was Classic FM’s Album of the Weekend, received Luister Magazine’s 10 star-review, and it became Album of the Week on Scala Radio as it was released in October 2022. Anna Fedorova, Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen and Modestas Pitrenas recorded Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 in November 2022, which will complete their Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos cycle in May 2023; the 150th birthday year of the composer.

Highlights in 2023 include performances of Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos Nos. 2, 3 and 4 with various orchestras such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Kirill Karabits at the Barbican, the ADDA Symfónica, the Malaysian Philharmonic, and the New Japan Philharmonic. Anna Fedorova will also be performing at Festivals all over the world. Highlights are a recital at La Folle Journée de Nantes and performances of the Grieg Piano Concerto at Oxford Piano Festival and Batumi Music Festival.

Anna Fedorova graduated from the Lysenko School of Music in Kyiv with Borys Fedorov and the Accademia Pianistica in Imola, Italy, with Leonid Margarius. She received her Master’s degree and Artist Diploma at the Royal College of Music, London, under the guidance of Norma Fisher. Her mentors include Alfred Brendel, Menahem Pressler, Steven Isserlis, and Sir András Schiff.

In 2022, Anna Fedorova and double bassist Nicholas Santangelo Schwartz founded the Davidsbündler Music Academy in The Hague. Before the Academy’s door officially opened in September 2022, the Davidsbündler Foundation already started to provide top quality musical education to Ukrainian refugees who had fled to the Netherlands. They continue to do so in 2023 and provide full scholarships to young talented pianists and string players from low-income families, among which are 12 young Ukrainian pianists.

Booklet for Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 & Youth Symphony - Silvestrov: The Messenger