Maestro Antonio Pappano insisted he wanted to record with Beatrice Rana, the 22-year-old Italian pianist championed by Martha Argerich who shot to stardom when she claimed the Silver Medal and the coveted Audience Award in the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. On that occasion, Huffington Post described the seasoned competition winner’s performance as ‘an endlessly fascinating piece of humanity that had the orchestra riveted on every note’. Warner Classics signed this young piano sensation in mid-2015; the Italian virtuoso now makes her label debut with the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano. Recorded in Rome, the formidable programme pairs two Russian masterpieces: a thrillingly fresh take on the warhorse of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1 in B-flat minor – an indispensable repertoire benchmark and calling card for concert pianists all over the world – and Prokofiev’s stormy, emotionally charged Piano Concerto No.2. This coupling is a bold statement for a musician who ‘possesses an old soul that belies her twenty years, and more than a touch of genius’ (Gramophone), but the soloist believes she has ‘the right character’ for this kind of music: ‘People say that South Italians are very dramatic!’
Disc 1
01 Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor: I. Andantino - Allegretto - Beatrice Rana
02 Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 16: II. Scherzo. Vivace - Beatrice Rana
03 Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 16: III. Intermezzo. Allegro moderato - Beatrice Rana
04 Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 16: IV. Finale. Allegro tempestoso - Beatrice Rana
05 Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 23: I. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso - Allegro con spirito - Beatrice Rana
06 Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 23: II. Andantino semplice - Prestissimo - Beatrice Rana
07 Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 23: III. Allegro con fuoco - Beatrice Rana
