| 1 CD |
€ 19.95
|
Preorder |
| Label Challenge Classics |
UPC 0608917200584 |
Catalogue number CC 720058 |
Release date 15 May 2026 |
Ilona Timtschenkos kommendes Album Echoes of a Hidden Legacy ist eine zutiefst persönliche und künstlerisch mutige Hommage an die Musik von Albert Semjonowitsch Leman, einem Komponisten von tiefem Humanismus, dessen Stimme geprägt von Brillanz und Widrigkeiten außerhalb Russlands weitgehend ungehört geblieben ist. Indem sie zwei große Klavierzyklen zusammenführt, die für sie geschrieben und ihr gewidmet wurden (Verhaeren Suite und Schallwellen (Waves of Sound)) und hier beide als Weltersteinspielungen vorliegen, stellt Timtschenko eine lebendige Verbindung zur künstlerischen Vision ihres Lehrers wieder her. Da sie Lemans letztes Klavier geerbt hat genau jenes Instrument, auf dem diese Werke komponiert wurden, schafft sie eine seltene Kontinuität von Klang und Geist und schlägt in einer Interpretation, die zugleich intim, poetisch und architektonisch leuchtend ist, eine Brücke zwischen Vergangenheit und Gegenwart. Inspiriert von der symbolistischen Dichtung Émile Verhaerens verwandelt die Verhaeren Suite Atmosphäre in Musik von eindringlicher psychologischer Tiefe, während Schallwellen Resonanz und Schwingung mit einer kontemplativen Modernität erforscht, die in aufrichtiger Expressivität gründet.
Vollendet wird das Album durch Sofia Gubaidulinas kraftvolle Chaconne, geschrieben während ihres Studiums bei Leman, und bildet so einen symbolischen Bogen vom Lehrer zur Schülerin, vom Vermächtnis zur Fortführung. In diesem sorgfältig kuratierten Programm tut Timtschenko mehr, als nur zu interpretieren: Sie hört zu, erinnert sich und erweckt neu. Das Ergebnis ist nicht bloß eine Aufnahme, sondern ein Akt künstlerischer Wiederherstellung, ein Zeugnis von Widerstandskraft, Mentorschaft und der fortdauernden Kraft des Klangs selbst. Mit ihrer prägenden Präsenz und ihrer lebenslangen Hingabe an die zeitgenössische Musik lädt Ilona Timtschenko uns ein, eine Stimme neu zu entdecken, die nicht als Echo der Vergangenheit spricht, sondern als lebendige und notwendige Präsenz in der heutigen musikalischen Landschaft.
Crimean-born pianist Ilona Timchenko is recognized internationally as an artist of great poetry, depth, and power. Her studies at the Moscow Conservatory with E. Richter, the Prince Claus Conservatoire with A.Gold, and at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in the Hague with Rian de Waal have inspired her brand of Russian tradition with European sensibilities. In search of a French perspective, she continued her studies with Michel Beroff in Paris at the same time travelled to Florence to learn from the legendary pianist of the 20th Century Lazar Berman. She was also privileged to meet and develop special relationships with such legends as Albert Lehman (composer and protégé of D.Shostakovich), S.Gubaidulina (composer), M.Lubotsky (violinist), and A.Garcia Abril (composer). Ilona’s musical curiosity has lead her develop a large breadth of experience and repertoire spanning from the Baroque to the present day.
Blessed with phenomenal technique and sensuous expression, she has dazzled audiences on some of the world’s most important stages such as Wigmore Hall, Philips Hall in Holland, the Vienna Musikverein, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Madrid’s Monumental Theatre, Oriental Arts Centre in Shanghai, Megaron Hall (Atenas), Palatului Hall (Bucharest) among many others.
Ilona is the recipient of many prizes and honours, including Enesco Competition in Bucharest, Beethoven Competition in Vienna, the Liszt Competition in Utrecht and the Maria Callas Grand Prix in Athens as well as many others. She has performed as a soloist with leading orchestras such as Saint Petersburg Academic Capella Orchestra, Holland Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, North Holland Orchestra, Royal Flanders Philharmonic, Granada Symphony Orchestra, Royal Galician Philharmonic and Orquesta of the Romanian Radio, RTVE Orquestra, the New Music Chamber Orchestra and more.
Ilona Timchenko enjoys a versatile musical life, playing solo recitals, appearing as a soloist with orchestras, and forming all kinds of chamber music combinations with instrumentalists and singers. Ilona is a passionate chamber musician and has been a member of the critically-acclaimed Metamorphoses trio since 2016, the CD released with this ensemble in 2018 gained unanimous high praise in publications all around the world.
Ilona’s CD recordings have received some of the highest acclaim by critics. Ilona recorded her first CD with Landor Records performing works by Brahms and Schumann and it was selected for the inaugural International Record Review magazine in the ‘Outstanding’ accolades category. Her recordings have received rave reviews in Gramophone Magazine and BBC Music Magazine. In 2010 Ilona recorded the piano music of one of the leading Spanish composers of our days – Anton Garcia Abríl. The set of two CDs was released in September of 2012 and ranked as “excellent” in the magazine “Ritmo”.
Never one to shy away from difficulty, Timchenko became the first pianist to make a public performance of the complete 24 Preludes and Fugues of Shostakovich in Italy. During the pandemic, she was offered a “journey” with a series of concerts with Anne de Pelegrinage of Liszt. Ilona is a staunch defender of contemporary music and has premiered many works by contemporary composers, many which were dedicated to her. Many such recordings of premieres are stored in the archives of the Moscow State Conservatory. Ilona is invited yearly as professor at the annual Aurora Summer Academy and Festival in the Netherlands. She is the founder and Artistic Director of the Association Peregrinos Musicales, which organises masterclasses, a concert series, and and International Festival in Galicia “Peregrinos Musicales” taking place in Santiago de Compostela.
At present she combines the position of a Head of the Piano Department in CSM de Galicia with a professorship at the Forum Musicae in Madrid.
Sofia Gubaidulina studied piano and composition at the conservatory of Kazan, and later the conservatory of Moscow. There, she studied under Nikolai Peiko, the assistent of Dmitri Shostakovich. She is active as a composer since 1963. In 1975, she founded the Astreja, a group with Viktor Suslin and Vyacheslav Artyomov, which focused on improvisation with rare Russian, Caucasian, Central and East Asian traditional music- and percussion instruments. Thanks to the renowned violist Gidon Kemer, who promotes her work since the 80s, and conductor Reinbert de Leeuw, who presented many of her works, her music is regurlarly performed in the West. Together with Schnittke and Denisov, she is regarded as one of the most important composers of new music from the former Soviet Union. In 1992, she moved to Germany.
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