This CD is dedicated to the music of Sergei Bortkiewicz (1877‐1952), one of the most unjustly overlooked composers. During his life, Bortkiewicz was oppressed and persecuted by both Soviet and Nazi regimes. A brilliant pianist and composer, he was also a refugee and a survivor of two world wars and a civil war. The style of Bortkiewicz’s music derives from the great Romantic composers of the 19th century. He adopted Liszt’s rich and brilliant piano writing, Chopin’s lyricism and humanness, imagery of Schumann’s character pieces, Wagner’s imaginative harmony. The trademark of Bortkiewicz’s music is his captivating poetic melodies. This new recording contains his Crimean Sketches and a selection of Etudes, Preludes and other Character Pieces.

Pavel Gintov graduated with honors from the Moscow State Conservatory, where he was a student of Lev Naumov and Daniil Kopylov. He holds a Doctor of Musical Art degree from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, where he studied with Nina Svetlanova. First‐ Prize winner of the Takamatsu International Piano Competition in Japan he played in Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, Teatro Verdi in Milan and many other important venues.