New Rubinstein CD Released

Pianist Grigorios Zamparas performs two major works of the Russian Romantic repertoire on a new CD release from Centaur (CRC 3032). Anton Rubinstein (1829-1924) wrote five piano concerti; Zamparas plays Nos. 3 and 4 with the Philharmonia Bulgarica and conductor Jon Ceander Mitchell.

Rubinstein’s works suffered neglect partly due to their being banned by the Nazis throughout much of Europe and later, for being written in an overtly romantic style derided by the Soviets. There were also numerous mistakes in the hurridly published works, making definitive performances difficult.

The Third Concerto in G major, Op. 45, composed in 1853, shortly before Rubinstein’s European tour, is highly experimental in form, featuring no less than three cadenzas for the soloist within the first 33 measures of the piece.

Rubinstein’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in D minor, Op. 70, composed in 1864 and revised several times before its publication in 1872, is considered to be the composer’s masterpiece. Both works were previously recorded by Rubinstein’s only private student, the legendary Josef Hoffmann.

Grigorios Zamparas is a frequent guest at numerous festivals worldwide, having performed several times at the prestigious Newport Music Festival, the Artist Series of Sarasota, the Salon of the Arts (Sofia, Bulgaria), and the Mainly Mozart Festival among others. He has been a frequent guest artist at the Portoheli International Summer Festival in Portoheli, Greece, where he has performed more than 200 works. At Newport last summer he performed a recital entitled “Gaggle of Greeks—Music in Flight” including works by Constantinidis, Skalkottas, and Hadjidakis, as well as Liszt and Chopin.

His recording The Youthful Beethoven (including the 1785 Piano Concerto in E Flat, WoO 4, and the Romance cantabile for piano, flute and bassoon, H13, from 1786) is also available on Centaur Records.

Zamparas studied with the distinguished Greek pedagogue Yorgos Manessis and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Miami where he studied with Ivan Davis. He also holds degrees from Indiana University (MM), University of Indianapolis (BM), and the Aristotle University of Thessalonica, Greece. He is on the faculty at the University of Tampa. His teachers have also included Prof. Evelyne Brancart and Dr. Richard Ratliff.

For further information contact: rwam@rwam.cnc.net