Jan Lisiecki: Schumann – Works for Piano and Orchestra

The brilliant young Polish-Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki has recently released his third recording with Deutsche Grammophon Jan Lisiecki: Schumann – Works for Piano and Orchestra. It opens with the Piano Concerto in A minor op. 54. It also contains the Introduction and Allegro appassionato op. 92, Träumerei op. 15 no. 7 and the rarely heard Introduction and Allegro op. 134.

It is the first time that Schumann’s opus 134 has been recorded by Deutsche Grammophon in its 117-year history.

Jan Lisiecki was born in Canada in March 1995 to Polish parents. He began studying the piano aged five and in four years made his concerto debut. He has since performed with a dazzling array of elite conductors and orchestras in the major concerts halls of the world.

Performing with Lisiecki on the disc is the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano. Their collaboration on the Schumann piano concerto had its beginnings in 2012 when the 17- year- old Lisiecki stood in for Marta Argerich on two occasions during one of her tours. The following year, Lisiecki made his BBC Proms debut playing Schumann’s piano concerto with the orchestra and Sir Pappano.

Gramophone nominated him their 2013 Young Artist of the Year. The same year he won the Leonard Bernstein Award at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and the Canadian Chopin Society Artist Recognition Award.

Lisiecki’s recording of Chopin’s two piano concertos won the Diapason d’Or Découverte Award in May 2010 and his recording of Chopin’s Études for Deutsche Grammophon was nominated Gramophone Magazine Editor’s Choice in October 2013.