Anton Rubinstein was one of the greatest pianists of his age – a virtuoso the equal of Liszt and a popular composer whose career took him all over the world. Despite his invaluable contributions to Russian music, his legacy proved controversial with later generations. Today we can appreciate Rubinstein’s very real achievement as a gifted and original composer whose works are notable for their melodic memorability and extraordinary variety of textures. These Preludes and Études bear powerful witness to this composer’s technical ability and command of tone colour, forming a comprehensive survey of Rubinstein’s piano technique and creative prowess.

This release builds on our growing catalogue of piano works by Anton Rubinstein, this is reflected in the fact that this programme includes the world-premiere recordings of the complete Six Preludes, op.24, and the Piano Étude in C major – an indication of what still remains to be discovered from this composer.

Previous solo piano recordings of works by Anton Rubinstein include Le Bal (8.574216) played by Warren Lee and summed up as ‘stunning and imaginative’ by MusicWeb International, and his Piano Sonatas (8573989) played by Han Chen, described as ‘forthright, effective, and often original’ in Records International.

Pianist Martin Cousin is regarded as one of the most exceptional pianists of his generation, having been awarded First Prize at the 2005 Ettore Pozzoli International Piano Competition (Seregno, Italy) and Gold Medal at the 2003 Royal Over-Seas League Music Competition (London). His recordings on the SOMM label have received wide acclaim, and his disc of Rachmaninov's Études-Tableaux was released in 2014 and was proclaimed ‘a landmark recording’ by The Observer with a 5-star review.