8.573666
Listen to an excerpt from Shostakovich’s
Piano Concerto No. 2

Dmitry SHOSTAKOVICH (1906–1975)
Piano Concertos Nos. 1* and 2
String Quartets Nos. 2 & 8
Arranged for piano by Boris Giltburg
Boris Giltburg, Piano • Rhys Owens, Trumpet*
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra • Vasily Petrenko

† WORLD PREMIÈRE RECORDING

Boris Giltburg discusses his
transcription of String Quartet No. 8:
Listen to a podcast about the release:
Shostakovich’s two Piano Concertos span a period of almost thirty years. The youthful First Piano Concerto is a masterful example of eclecticism, its inscrutable humour and seriousness allied to virtuoso writing enhanced by the rôle for solo trumpet. Written as a birthday present for his son Maxim, the Second Piano Concerto is light-spirited with a hauntingly beautiful slow movement. With the permission of the composer’s family, Boris Giltburg has arranged the exceptionally dark, deeply personal and powerful String Quartet No. 8, thereby establishing a major Shostakovich solo piano composition.
Boris Giltburg| Rhys Owens| Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra| Vasily Petrenko
© Sasha Gusov
   About Boris Giltburg
Boris Giltburg took first prize at the 2013 Queen Elisabeth Competition, having won second prize at the Rubinstein in 2011 and top prize at Santander back in 2002, and subsequently appearing across the globe. Notable débuts have included a South American tour in 2002 (and every season since), with the Israel Philharmonic in 2005, the Indianapolis Symphony in 2007, a tour of China in 2007, and at the BBC Proms in London in 2010. He has appeared with Marin Alsop, Martyn Brabbins, Edo de Waart, Christoph von Dohnányi, Philippe Entremont, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Neeme Järvi, Kirill Karabits, Emmanuel Krivine, Hannu Lintu, Vasily Petrenko, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Tugan Sokhiev and Yan Pascal Tortelier, among others. In 2014 he began a long-term recording plan with Naxos.
Watch – Naxos Backstage | Boris Giltburg
© Mark McNulty
   About Rhys Owens
Rhys Owens began playing the cornet in the local brass band at the age of eight. Before joining the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra he played with many British orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and BBC National Orchestra of Wales, as well as working in Europe. He joined RLPO in August 1991 as Fourth Trumpet, and was promoted to Section Principal in 1998.
© Mark McNulty
   About the Royal Liverpool
   Philharmonic Orchestra
The award-winning Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra is the oldest continuing professional symphony orchestra in Britain, dating from 1840. Highlight recordings on the orchestra’s Naxos discography (with Vasily Petrenko) include Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony [8.570568] which won the 2009 Gramophone Awards Orchestral Recording of the Year, and a complete Shostakovich symphony cycle [8.501111] (the recording of Symphony No. 10 [8.572461] was the 2011 Gramophone Awards Orchestral Recording of the Year).
© Mark McNulty
   About Vasily Petrenko
Vasily Petrenko was appointed Principal Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in 2006 and in 2009 became Chief Conductor. He is also Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Chief Conductor of the European Union Youth Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra (Evgeny Svetlanov) in Moscow. He was the Classical BRIT Awards Male Artist of the Year 2010 and 2012 and the Classic FM/Gramophone Young Artist of the Year 2007.
8.573469
“[Boris Giltburg’s] originality stems from a convergence of heart and mind, served by immaculate technique and motivated by a deep and abiding love for one of the 20th century’s greatest composer-pianists.”
– Gramophone

8.573400
“Boris Giltburg’s well thought, yet always fresh and spontaneous playing is convincing by its intellectual freedom and the harmonious combination of energy and sensitivity.”
– Pizzicato ★★★★
8.573399
“Giltburg has the capacity to identify with and encapsulate the moods of each piece while artlessly crafting them into a shapely span.”
– Daily Telegraph (UK) ★★★★
8.501111
“The performances are skillful, breathtaking and beautiful. Very, very highly recommended!”
– Audiophile Audition ★★★★★