Motherland Khatia Buniatishvili

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): Cantata No. 9, BWV 208
• 1 Aria - Schafe können sicher weiden 04:50
• Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893): The Seasons No. 10, Op. 37b
• 2 October - Autumn Song 04:51
• Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809–1847): Lied ohne Worte in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 67/2
• 3 Lied ohne Worte in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 67/2 01:45
• Claude Debussy (1862–1918): Suite Bergamasque, L. 75
• 4 III. Clair de lune 05:34
• Giya Kancheli (1935-): Tune from the Film by Lana Gogoberidze
• 5 When Almonds Blossomed 02:08
• György Ligeti (1923–2006): Musica ricercata No. 7 in B-Flat Major
• 6 Musica ricercata No. 7 in B-Flat Major 02:50
• Johannes Brahms (1833–1897): Intermezzo in B-Flat Minor, Op. 117/2
• 7 Intermezzo in B-Flat Minor, Op. 117/2 05:10
• Franz Liszt (1811–1886): Wiegenlied, S. 198
• 8 Wiegenlied, S. 198 03:09
• Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904): Slavonic Dance for Four Hands in E Minor, Op. 72/2
• 9 Dumka (Allegretto grazioso) 03:18
• Maurice Ravel (1875–1937): Pavane pour une infante défunte in G Major
• 10 Pavane pour une infante défunte in G Major 05:56
• Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849): Etude in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 25/7
• 11 Etude in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 25/7 04:39
• Alexander Skrjabin (1872–1915): Etude in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 2/1
• 12 Etude in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 2/1 02:25
• Alessandro Scarlatti (1660–1725): Sonata in E Major, K. 380
• 13 Sonata in E Major, K. 380 02:53
• Edvard Grieg (1843–1907): Lyric Piece in E Minor, Op. 57/6
• 14 Homesickness 03:44
• Traditional: Vagiorko mai / Don't You Love Me?
• 15 Vagiorko mai / Don't You Love Me? 02:36
• Georg Friedrich Händel (1685–1759): Suite in B-Flat Major, HWV 434
• 16 IV. Menuet 03:51
• Arvo Pärt (1935–): Für Alina in B Minor
• 17 Für Alina in B Minor 05:03
• Total Runtime 01:04:42

Info for Motherland

Khatia Buniatishvili's new album, "Motherland," is an intimate quest encompassing solo piano works from Bach to Pärt and from Brahms to Kancheli, in which the themes of longing for home, the merriment of a folk dance and the eternal cycle of growth and decay are apparent. These are quiet, dreamy pieces, most of them not written for the concert hall, but expressing a personal journey for peace and a protected place. Spanning a broad stylistic and historical range, Motherland juxtaposes the happy lightness of a "Slavonic Dance" by Dvo ák and the melancholy of Grieg's lyrical "Homesickness" and contrasts the elegant gaiety of Mendelssohn's "Song without Words" (Op. 67/2) with the graceful introspection of Liszt's "Lullaby." Classics of the Romantic piano repertoire such as Chopin's Étude in C-sharp minor (Op. 25/7) and Brahms's "Intermezzo" (Op. 117/2) are embedded between Bach's cantata "Sheep May Safely Graze" and Arvo Pärt's musical dedication "For Alina."

Khatia Buniatishvili has been described by The Independent as "the young Georgian firebrand." At the age of only 26 years, this Tblisi-born pianist has already achieved an exceptional maturity of interpretation and a distinctive artistic approach that make her playing unmistakable. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2008 and has played with many famous orchestras around the world including the Israel Philharmonic with Kent Nagano, the San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic and the Orchestre de Paris under Paavo Järvi.

“soothing, intimate and reflective. Buntiashvili roduces the most ravishing, velvet-toned pianissimo, beautifully captured in Berlin's Jesus-Christus-Kirche. The trouble is that, after 20 minutes or so of ravishing, velvet-toned pianissimo, one begins to wonder if that is all this pianist is going to reveal of herself” (Gramophone)

“Behind the flowers, butterflies and soulful photos there lies some very classy piano-playing...Buntiashvili's playing is eloquent indeed: her voicing is expertly balanced in the opening Bach transcription and the Ravel Pavane, the phrasing sings wonderfully in the Tchaikovsky, Chopin and Scriabin...on the whole these are performances that get under your skin.” (BBC Music Magazine)

Kathia Buniatishvili, piano

Khatia Buniatishvili
Born on 21 June 1987 in Tbilisi, Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili and her elder sister Gvantsa were introduced to the piano at an early age by their mother, an enthusiastic music lover. Playing four handed remains one of the sisters’ favourite activities.

Khatia’s extraordinary talent was recognized when she was very young. Aged six, she gave her début performance as soloist with an orchestra, and was subsequently invited to give guest performances in Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Austria, Russia, Israel and the USA.

Khatia prefers not to be regarded as a child prodigy: virtuosity for its own sake does not appeal to her. Above all, she embraces pianists from earlier generations such as Rachmaninoff, Richter and Gould. She admires her “favourite pianist”, Martha Argerich, for her uniqueness and, as a consequence, does not view Argerich as someone she should try to emulate. And since she regards herself as “wholly a person of the 20th century”, Khatia does not identify so much with pianists of today.

Khatia’s warm, sometimes sorrowful playing may reflect a close proximity to Georgian folk-music, which, she attests, has greatly influenced her musicality. Critics emphasize that her playing has an aura of elegant solitude and even melancholy, which she does not feel to be a negative attribute. “The piano is the blackest instrument,” she says, a “symbol of musical solitude”, which even a pianist must become accustomed to. “I have to be psychologically strong and forget the hall if I want to share it with the audience.”

During her studies at Tbilisi’s State Conservatoire, Khatia won a special prize at the Horowitz International Competition for Young Pianists in Kiev in 2003 as well as first prize at the Foundation to Assist Young Georgian Musicians competition set up by Elisabeth Leonskaya.

At the 2003 Piano Competition in Tbilisi, she became acquainted with Oleg Maisenberg, who persuaded her to transfer to Vienna’s University of Music and Performing Arts. Winner of the Bronze Medal at the 12th Arthur Rubinstein Piano Master Competition in 2008, she was also distinguished as the Best Performer of a Chopin piece and as Audience Favourite.

Khatia Buniatishvili has given critically acclaimed solo recitals and chamber music concerts at such renowned venues as London’s Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and the Musikverein in Vienna. In 2008 she made her US concert début at Carnegie Hall (Zankel Hall), performing Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto.

In 2011 Khatia Buniatishvili made her recording debut with a Liszt recital on Sony Classical, following now with her first recording accompanied with orchestra for a Chopin album. Khatia Buniatishvili has been invited to play with, among other orchestras, the Orchestre de Paris under Paavo Järvi, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France under Daniele Gatti and the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. She can also often be heard in performances of chamber music: in a trio with Gidon Kremer, with Renaud Capuçon or also with her sister Gvantsa.

In 2010 Khatia received the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award and was included in the BBC series on New Generation Artists. The Vienna Musikverein and Konzerthaus nominated her as Rising Star for the 2011–12 season. A great acclamation in 2012 was the selection of Khatia Buniatishvili as Best Newcomer of the Year in the Echo Klassik awards.

In 2013–14 Khatia is part of the breathtaking show Art on Ice. In addition to recitals in the Vienna Musikverein, Salle-Pleyel in Paris, the Philharmonie in Berlin and the Wigmore Hall in London, her highlights of 2014 will include tours in China and North America in spring, and concerts with the Munich Philharmonic and Lorin Maazel.

Booklet for Motherland