Alexei Lubimov - Fractured Surfaces (2003)

Alexei Lubimov is a Russian pianist who also plays fortepiano and harpsichord. In his early years he studied at the Moscow Central Music School, and in 1963, entered the Moscow Conservatory, where he studied with Heinrich Neuhaus and Lew Naumov. He developed a strong interest in Baroque music and 20th century modernist works. Lubimov gave the Soviet premieres of many western compositions, including pieces by Charles Ives, Arnold Schoenberg, John Cage, Terry Riley, Pierre Boulez, and Karlheinz Stockhausen, which brought censorship from the Soviet authorities. For a number of years he was prevented from traveling outside the Soviet Union. Turning to his interest in period instruments and authentic performance practices, he founded the Moscow Baroque Quartet and co-founded the Moscow Chamber Academy with Tatiana Grindenko. Lubimov also organized the avant-garde music festival "Alternativa."

Much in demand as a soloist since the 1980s, Lubimov has performed with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the London Philharmonic, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Russian National Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, to name a few. He has collaborated with many conductors, among them Vladimir Ashkenazy, Christopher Hogwood, Neeme Järvi, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Roger Norrington, Marek Janowski, Iván Fischer, Kent Nagano, and Frans Brüggen. In 1998, Lubimov toured Europe with Jukka-Pekka Saraste and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in performances of Rachmaninov's four piano concertos. He has performed with Andreas Staier and Alexei Zuev in piano duets; played chamber music with Natalia Gutman, Heinrich Schiff, Christian Tetzlaff, Gidon Kremer, and Wieland Kuijken; and accompanied tenor Peter Schreier in vocal music. He has made recordings for Teldec, Melodiya, BIS, Erato, Sony, and ECM New Series. -- Blair Sanderson