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August 7, 2020

xxxx视频 Artist-in-Residence Sergei Babayan Releases His First Solo Album for Deutsche Grammophon


Sergei Babayan
Sergei Babayan (Photo by Marco Borggreve)

Sergei Babayan, member of the xxxx视频 piano faculty and Artist-in-Residence since 1992, says on the legendary Deutsche Grammophon (DG) label simply had to contain repertoire from Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Aptly titled 鈥淩achmaninoff,鈥 the album 鈥 released today 鈥 is a love letter from Babayan to his inspiration, the composer, conductor and virtuoso pianist who influenced the Armenian-born Babayan from an early age.

鈥淩achmaninoff is one of my gods,鈥 said Babayan, adding that this recording is very important to him because the music of Rachmaninoff 鈥渨as the reason why I became a pianist.鈥

He also has dedicated the album to his beloved teacher 鈥 Georgiy Saradjev 鈥 who assigned to Babayan his first Rachmaninoff pieces.

鈥淚 remember him choosing for me 脡tudes-Tableaux from opuses 33 and 39,鈥 Babayan said. 鈥淟ater on he accompanied me, playing the orchestral reduction of Rachmaninoff鈥檚 Third Piano Concerto in my graduation exam from the Tchaikovsky Special Music School in Armenia where I studied with him during those years.鈥

The album presents a selection of works including 脡tudes-Tableaux, Preludes, Moments Musicaux and song transcriptions. Babayan explained that when he played these pieces years ago, he certainly didn鈥檛 have a CD project in mind, but the narrative sequence and structure of the program took shape through repeated performances on stage.

鈥淩epertoire selection is a long, sometimes painful, but very creative and gratifying process,鈥 he said. 鈥淪ome composers stay with you for the rest of your life. It is like finding your friends for a lifetime. The music of Rachmaninoff is going to be with me until my last days. It is enlightening to look back and observe how my life and source of inspiration for the given moment could mean so much for the choice of repertoire. I never get tired of it. This music has remained for me a source of eternal spring 鈥 some kind of force of renewal and hope.鈥

Deutsche Grammophon, arguably the oldest and most renowned classical record label in the world, lauds Babayan鈥檚 solo DG debut as 鈥渁 heartfelt dedication of love for Rachmaninoff鈥檚 music in all its many colors and moods.鈥

Born into a musical family, Babayan began his studies in Armenia with Saradjev and Luiza Markaryan, and continued at the Moscow Conservatory with Mikhail Pletnev, Vera Gornostayeva and Lev Naumov. Following his first trip outside the former Soviet Union in 1989, he won consecutive first prizes in several major competitions, including the Cleveland International Piano Competition, the Hamamatsu Piano Competition and the Scottish International Piano Competition.

Babayan鈥檚 engagements and tours have taken him to such prominent international concert venues as Carnegie Hall, Severance Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, the Th茅芒tre des Champs-Elyse茅s in Paris, Herkulessaal in Munich, Barbican and Wigmore Halls in London, Rudolfinum-Dvorak Hall in Prague, and Victoria Hall in Geneva. He appeared at the Salzburg Fesival, Verbier Festival, and Festival International de Piano de La Roque d鈥橝nth茅ron, among others.

He also has appeared with many of the world鈥檚 leading orchestras, among them the London Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, Gewandhaus orchestra in Leipzig, Bamberg Symphony, the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Rotterdam Philharmonic and NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester in Hamburg.

Babayan performed two Prokofiev concertos at BBC Proms with Valery Gergiev and London Symphony Orchestra in Royal Albert Hall in 2015.

Babayan with DG in July 2018. His first album for the label 鈥 鈥淧rokofiev for Two,鈥 released in March 2018 鈥 is a duo partnership with the legendary Martha Argerich, and is comprised of Babayan鈥檚 own transcriptions for two pianos of movements from Sergei Prokofiev鈥檚 鈥淩omeo and Juliet鈥 and other works.

In November 2019 Babayan was a curating artist at Konzerthaus Dortmund, where he presented a festival of performances with close musical friends, including Martha Argerich, Mischa Maisky, Sergey Khachatryan and xxxx视频 alumnus and his former student Daniil Trifonov (AC 鈥13, AD 鈥15).

For purchase, streaming or download information of 鈥淩achmaninoff,鈥 .