‘Chopin is one of the closest composers to my heart; his Nocturnes are among the first pieces of music I ever heard, and thus played an important role in my destiny as a musician. It is fascinating how Chopin manages to create, in just a few minutes, a sound world of a subtle but powerful beauty that does not pale even in comparison with his Third Sonata, a towering masterpiece whose complexity and richness, pianistically as well as musically, defies description.

In contrast, the piano of Isaac Albéniz has all the colours and exuberance of an orchestra; it depicts images, dances, flavours, and also the nostalgic soul of Albéniz’s native Spain with incredible flashes of imagination.

Liszt’s Spanish Rhapsody, a favourite of the great Romantic pianists of the past, could be defined as a paraphrase on Spanish themes that Liszt’s pianistic genius makes unmistakably his own. Its tremendous, suggestive appeal and pianistic brilliance has lost nothing of its enduring fascination for pianists and audiences alike.’

– Nelson Goerner, February 2017

Listen to our Kings Place podcast featuring the acclaimed pianists Nelson Goerner and Ilya Itin.

‘It took me no longer than a minute to realise, upon hearing the opening strains of this recording, that I was in the presence of a very great pianist indeed. Such breathtaking musicianship, wed to a huge heart and a humanitarian spirit, is not something that crosses one’s path every day. To say the experience was humbling is an understatement…Goerner has just become one of my favourite pianists…’ Fanfare USA

Duration: 90 mins including an interval