MIKHAIL IVANOVICH GLINKA
(1804–1857)

COMPLETE PIANO WORKS • 1

INGA FIOLIA

“We seem to be living in a musical world full of pianists who amaze us with displays of technique that even Liszt would be astonished by, I’m sure. But music, to me, is more precious and lasting when an artist opens the door to our hearts and communicates feelings expressed in the notes that a more superficial performance won’t reveal. Such an artist is Inga Fiolia. When I hear her play I am transported across generations into the essence of the music. This collection of Glinka pieces is a delightful introduction not only to his music, but to the transparency and beauty of Ms. Fiolia’s superb playing.”

– Alan Broadbent
(Two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning jazz pianist, arranger and composer)

About this Recording

Glinka can justifiably be described as the fertile acorn from which grew the mighty oak of 19th century Russian national music. The graceful Variations on a Theme by Mozart, based on material from The Magic Flute, is remodelled so skilfully that it has effectively become an original theme. Fashionable salon pieces include the Variations on Benadetta sia la madre, an Italian romance, and Variations on a Theme from Cherubini’s Faniska, an opera greatly admired by Glinka. In Milan he became famous for his ability to reproduce on the piano the nuances of the voices of the great singers of the day, giving rise to two entertaining sets of operatic variations on themes by Donzietti and Bellini . The Variations on The Nightingale represent his return to the Russian style.

INGA FIOLIA

A multiple prizewinner of international competitions and described in the international press as a “poet on the piano with remarkable maturity”, Georgian born pianist Inga Fiolia has a bright future. Since giving her first performance with an orchestra at the age of seven, she has shown outstanding ability as a soloist, accompanist and interpreter of a wide variety of styles, from baroque to 21st century compositions. She graduated from the Central Music School of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow and the Cologne Musikhochschule with Alexey Nasedkin, Rudolf Kehrer and Vassily Lobanov. As a soloist, she has collaborated with world-renowned orchestras including the Brandenburg State Opera Philharmonic, the Brussels Philharmonic, the Georgian State Chamber Orchestra and National Philharmonic, the Bergische Symphoniker, and the South Westphalia Philharmonic. She has shared stages with Rolando Villazón, Michael Barenboim and Christian Lanza and has also performed for major TV and radio stations including ZDF, ARTE, Classica TV, SWR, Deutschlandradio, WDR and Georgian TV. Her performance of a selection of Scriabin Preludes and Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 was released on DVD Stars of tomorrow (Unitel Classica, 2015).