A fertile dialogue between two major figures of German Romanticism and Mykola Lysenko, the founder of the Ukrainian school of composition, ‘Heartlands’ draws on the pianistic roots of Ukrainian pianist Dmytro Choni. It follows a path traced through the expressive heart of Romanticism, bringing together the deep introspection of Brahms, the fervent intensity of Schumann and the national spirit of Lysenko.

As its title indicates, ‘Heartlands’ is an album of both land and heart. Since childhood, Ukrainian pianist Dmytro Choni has instinctively nourished his playing with emotional and cultural roots he feels to be profoundly his own - those of the Germans Brahms and Schumann, as well as of the Ukrainian Lysenko, an omnipresent musical figure in his homeland: an exceptional teacher, a collector and publisher of folk music, a passionate cultural and civic leader and the visionary founder of Kyiv’s first professional Music and Drama School in 1904.

With this album, the prize-winner of the prestigious Leeds and Van Cliburn competitions re-creates - by shifting the listener’s gaze and ear eastward - a finely balanced dialogue between a largely Germanic Romantic repertoire and music that deserves far greater visibility beyond its national borders.