FRANCK, GRIEG SHOR-PLETNEV & SHOSTAKOVICH

Spiritual Beauty - Daniel Lozakovich in duo with Michail Pletnev "One of my favorite musicians of all time," answers young violinist Daniel Lozakovich when asked about star pianist Michail Pletnev. The two musicians are separated by an age difference of more than 40 years, but what does that mean in music? After all, Daniel Lozakovich has been praised by media such as Le Figaro as an "exceptional talent" and has already performed at long-awaited venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York and the Vienna Konzerthaus. Now Lozakovich and Pletnev present their first joint recording as a duo: the album Grieg, Franck, Shor-Pletnev, Shostakovich. It is also the debut album of the early twenty-something for the Warner Classics label. Lozakovich feels a spiritual bond with keyboardist Pletnev that transcends age differences: "We don't talk much during rehearsals because we know where the music is leading. It is a spiritual community." For the program, the two musicians chose the contrasting Violin Sonata No. 3 by Edvard Grieg, which fluctuates between tender, withdrawn moments and stormy, expressive outbursts. Grieg himself was considered one of the best pianists of his time and performed with the leading violin virtuosos in his own performances of his sonatas. Daniel Lozakovich says about the Violin Sonata in A Major by French composer César Franck: "It is the pinnacle of spiritual beauty, an ideal expression of the dialogue between violin and piano with endless magical melodies in which you find an infinite number of colors."