Alexei Lubimov - Schubert: Impromptus, Op. 90 D. 899 & Op. 142 D. 935 '2010

Tracks list

Tracklist

01. Impromptu, Op. 90 D. 899, No. 1 in C Minor Allegro molto moderato
02. Impromptu, Op. 90 D. 899, No. 2 in E-Flat Major Allegro
03. Impromptu, Op. 90 D. 899, No. 3 in G-Flat Major Andante mosso
04. Impromptu, Op. 90 D. 899, No. 4 in A-Flat Minor Allegretto
05. Impromptu, Op. 142 D. 935, No. 1 in F Minor Allegro moderato
06. Impromptu, Op. 142 D. 935, No. 2 in A-Flat Major Allegretto
07. Impromptu, Op. 142 D. 935, No. 3 in B-Flat Major Andante
08. Impromptu, Op. 142 D. 935, No. 4 in F Minor Allegro scherzando


We had the immense pleasure of recording Alexei Lubimov in Haarlem in the summer
of 2009. From his Moscow premieres of John Cage and Terry Riley in 1968, by way
of the Moscow Baroque Quartet of the 1970s and the avant-garde festival
‘Alternativa’ founded in 1988, to Schubert on period instruments in
Haarlem in 2009 and a class on period and modern instruments at the Moscow
Conservatory as well as a fortepiano class at the Salzburg Mozarteum - History
with a capital H has loomed large in his life: through the era of the Iron
Curtain, artistic isolation and the KGB via perestroika to the world of today.
We met a man aged sixty-five, still alert, with an immense sensibility and an
exceptionally open mind which enables him to run the gamut from Schubert to
Silvestrov, Arvo Pärt, and Scriabin.

Alexei Lubimov belongs to the great russian tradition of musicians such as
Richter, Gilels (Lubimov was one of the last student of Heinrich Neuhaus in
Moscow) and to this generation of baroque pioneers together with Gustav
Leonhardt, Juijken... He is also a major artist playing russian composers such
as Denisov, Schnittke, Silvestrov... and Arvo Pärt...

Alexei Lubimov developed his outstanding international carrier with these three
cultures in mind. He was in Brussels in 1968 to play Denisov piano pieces where
he met the Kuijken brothers. He played John Cage and Terry Riley during the
Soviet Union time. In the 70s, he created the Moscow Baroque Quartet with whom
they discovered baroque music on period instruments. In the 80s, he created the
avant-gardiste festival : Alternativa in Moscow together with a unique
department of keyboards (old and new) at the Moscow Conservatory... Alexei
Lubimov is also a teacher of pianoforte at the Salzbourg Mozarteum.

These impromptus 2010 bring a new interpretation, refined and powered by 20
years of praxis on period instruments and modern instruments, between tradition
and avant-garde, Russia and Europe.

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