Piano music is central to Valentin Silvestrov’s output. With its frequent allusions to lingering recollections of the past, this programme presents an overview of various creative periods. It begins with the composer’s reworkings of youthful sketches (Naive Musik), followed by Der Bote (The Messenger) with its beautiful Mozartian theme leading into a sonatina in the style of the 18th century. After recent works from Silvestrov’s self–defined ‘Bagatelle’ period, the recording concludes with the striking Kitschmusik, which engages with the music of Schumann, Chopin and Brahms. The Two Waltzes are dedicated to Elisaveta Blumina.

Elisaveta Blumina prefers playing character pieces. This may be because, even as a child, she was attracted to the ballet and her most fervent wish was to become a ballerina. This wish was never to be fulfilled (You are too tall, they said at the ballet school, but it had a significant impact in her understanding of music: Through the perception of dance, of movements and the characters involved, she can get a better feeling for the music. The fundamental reason for the choice of repertoire on this album was that the works by Scriabin, Prokofiev, Weinberg, Frid and Kancheli also, for her, represent a retrospective connection to her home country.