Marianna Shirinyan, Piano

.."Marianna Shirinyan remains the main attraction of the evening. Grieg's lovely piano concerto from 1868 has rarely sounded more captivating. She has lived in Denmark for some ten years and has made her mark as one of the vest pianists overall. Her musicality is intense and passionate. Her technique is flawless and uniquely smooth.."

So a Steinway and a symphony orchestra; these then are unashamed ‘full-on’ performances with modern resources. That however is not to say they are insensitive or lacking in style, and I enjoyed the disc enormously. Shirinyan has a true feeling for Mozart’s music, and her playing is full of elegantly turned phrases and lyrical cantabile. She doesn’t apologise for her Steinway, and produces a tone which, though always beautiful, does reveal the resonant depths of tone available. Gwyn Parry-JOnes

.."In addition we were given a pianist in world class with a fine orchestra. A real feast". "When Marianna Shirinyan, Armenian pianist performing worldwide, played Grieg's Piano Concerto, her interpretation was beyond the audience's ordinary references. Her playing was fiery but yet stringent and balanced with a lively lyrical expression. Grieg would have enjoyed and liked her interpretation". Birgit Ahlberg-Hyse

Marianna Shirinyan is a young Danish-Armenian pianist with a career in Europe. She is an engaging and thoughtful artist. Her tone is lovely and beautifully modulated, if not especially large. Shirinyan commands an excellent legato in passage work, while her articulation is febrile and vivid. She uses rubato with taste and good judgment. Above all, Shirinyan has a firm and thorough conception of the music she plays, something which cannot be taken for granted even from some famous pianists performing a Beethoven concerto. Unlike some young pianists who use their concerto debut album to display a glittering technique, Shirinyan employs hers to present musicianship purely at the service of the composer. This represents a welcome change from our celebrity-saturated musical culture, and I only can wish for Shirinyan more endeavors of the kind we have here. From the start of the Beethoven concerto, one is aware of the brilliant framework conductor Michael Francis provides the pianist. His accompaniment is crisp and passionate, with pungent contributions from the brass and timpani, and especially brilliant rhythmic articulation. With Shirinyans first entrance, we encounter the pianist as hero of this concerto, with bravura playing yet without pomposity or empty theatrics. Shirinyan plays truly Allegro con brio , with an almost combustible energy. Note that this is the same tempo marking as in the first movement of the Eroica Symphonyfor Shirinyan and Francis, both movements share nobility of utterance. Shirinyan has the ability to maintain tension even in the quietest moments. The cadenza possesses psychological depth, with character and refinement. In the Largo , Shirinyans playing is warm and unaffected. The interchanges between her and the first clarinet are particularly delectable. As presented here, the solo part seems a precursor of John Fields nocturnes, offering a proto-romantic subtext to a classical concerto. Shirinyans initial statement of the principal theme of the rondo has marvelous rhythmic lift and poise, in keeping with the Scherzando marking. She preserves this delicacy throughout the movement, without ever being fey. The coda is touching. This must be one of the best Beethoven Firsts of the digital era. Friedrich Kuhlaus concerto resembles Beethovens First in a number of ways. They are in the same key, their opening movements both have a catchy rhythmic figuration, their slow movements each open with the piano accompanied by stringsboth giving an important role to the first clarinetwhile the finales are both rondos opening with the solo piano. However, the content of these concertos differs hugely, with Kuhlaus resembling Hummels in style and substance. It is a well constructed work, pleasant and agreeable. From the lovely second theme of the opening tutti, one notes that we are not in the Olympian world of Beethoven. The piano part is highly revealing of the character of the performer, and Shirinyan plays it with elegance, repose, delicate shadings, and charm. She and conductor Rolf Gupta give the slow movement a diaphanous quality, with freedom in phrasing and a light footed warmth in texture. The piano part of the rondo, both virtuosic and gnomic, could have inspired Schuberts Moments Musicaux . Shirinyan gets everything out of this movement, without appearing to exert herself unduly. To make Kuhlaus concerto the discmate to standard repertory is a welcome change from usual record company practice. I found myself listening to the Kuhlau as often as to the Beethoven. The sound engineering in both concertos is excellent, clear, balanced, and unfussy. Of the classic recordings of the Beethoven, I like Rudolf Serkin with Eugene Ormandy and Sviatoslav Richter with Charles Munch. From the digital era there are notable performances by Lisa Smirnova and Lars Vogt, the latter using cadenzas composed by Glenn Gould. If you wish to explore Kuhlaus music further, Michael Schønwandt directs a fine recording of his overtures. I hope Marianna Shirinyan does not get lost in the shuffle of emerging young pianists. She is a distinguished artist who merits our attention. Her Beethoven and Kuhlau disc is a keeper. Dave Saemann

Marianna Shirinyan has received a fan of prizes, both in Germany where she graduated with top marks from the academy in Lübeck and in Denmark where she is 'Artist in Residence' with the Odense Symphony Orchestra from the autumn of 2013. She has released two cd's which portray her as soloist with orchestra in piano concertos by Beethoven and Kuhlau, the other is a solo cd. The first is recorded with the Copenhagen Phil. Beethoven was Friedrich Kuhlau's great idol and he brought Beethoven's early concerto in C Major, no. 1 with him when German Kuhlau moved to Denmark to avoid military service. Enyone can by listening to this cd ensure himself that Beethoven's concerto certainly was a model for Kuhlau's own, which is in the same key and shares many other characteristics. Two conductors are leading the orchestra. Whether it is the fine flowing period inspired sound, Michael Francis brings forward in Beethoven or Rolf Gupta's efforts in Kuhlau, the recording is noticable for its drive. Marianna Shirinyan plays the solo parts with fine points and beautiful sound. In Kuhlau she draws the listener completely into the composer's world. The tritonus interval is the main theme in the solo cd where Shirinyan shows her abilities. The interval's falling character plays a role in Liszt, where the pianist with a steady hand establishes her calibre. First with the strongly articulated "Après un lecture de Dante" followed by the visionary piece "la lugubre gondola" with depth and understanding. Alban Berg's early piano sonata lasts only ten minutes, but stands tight, clear romantic and modernistically condenced. Shriinyan plays it with a whiff of sensuality which suits the wienerisch piece. Mozart's piano sonata in C Major KV 330 gets as much soul between the music lines as in the interview in the booklet, where the artist lets her thoughts go to Vladimir Horowitz, the romantic pianistic icon of all times, who played the sonata in his famous concert in Moscow in 1986. Mozart's three sonatamovements are mirrored in the intense folk music mirror of the Armenian composer Tigran Mansurian, who in three short pieces for the lower part of the piano presents virtuosity in sharp rhythmical sauce! The tritonus interval again shows its develish face, and one may think that "Il viaggio" is a strange title for this cd. With the choice of pieces and strong interpretations it holds a very high level. Thomas Michelsen

"The applause grew to new heights when the Armenian pianist Marianna Shirinyan entered the podium. She had jumped in to replace a sick colleague at very short notice. She played the Beethoven Piano Concerto no. 4 impressively. Her performance shone of a mixture of poetic keyboard touch and passion. The orchestra was behind her body and soul, moving like a rippling wheat field with perfect contrasts between deep quiet and intensity. The pianist's crystal tone sparkled of clarity and dynamic touch. She hammered exclamation marks, blossoming colourful trills and lovedthe furious runs. As an Orpheus Marianna also conquered the furies at the gates of hell, celebrating the victory over the dark powers. The orchestra and conductor were with her on the same wavelength. She thanked for the ovations by playing Franz Liszt: Le Peregrines".

The young Armenian pianist, who has delighted the audiences in West Jutland, was soloist in Rachmaninov's Paganini Variations. It is a devilishly difficult piece. Marianna Shirinyan played very clearly both regarding sound and precision.

Marianna Shirinyan played a focused, well shaped performance of Rachmaninov's show piece Rhapsody over a theme by Paganini. She displayed technique and a poetic disposition which few of her colleagues in this country master. That she played another of Rachmaninov's terribly difficult concertos when she received the Danish Music Critics' Award only a couple of months ago say a lot about her calibre. Shirinyan had no scruples regarding living out her ideas. No matter how neckbreaking were the passages, the Armenian born pianist could concentrate on shaping an inviting expression and not only hit the right keys.

Together with the Philharmonie Südwestfalen, lead by Russell Harris the young pianist gave the audience a musical experience of a very special kind. It was hardly believable how this young pianist with her unbelievable dexterity could make the piano sound. She is an artist who obviously merges completely with the music. It was an undescibable music and sound experience. She played Rachmaninov for an encore.

The young Armenian pianist Marianna Shirinyan proved herself with a masterful performance of Brahms Concerto no.1. With an unbelievable commitment and elastic technique, she played the lovely concerto by the local composer Herman Zilcher. Shirinyan mastered the sensitive transformations in Brahms and also showed tremendous power and strength in the big passages. In Zilcher the lightness bubbled, and several surprises and entertained the audience and she displayed numerous small treasures in the music. Klaus Linsenmeyer