This is the debut album of a rising Latvian piano star Daumants Liepiņš, including world-premiere recording of Imants Zemzaris's Third Piano Sonata "Kaija" (Seagull).

Liepiņš gained international recognition after winning first prize in the Maria Canals competition, second prize in the George Enescu International Piano Competition and also the Vendome Prize at the Verbier Festival. Very recently we learned that he will be the 2021 artist in residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Brussels. And in 2020 Pianist magazine included Liepiņš at the very top of its list of Pianists to Look Out For.

"Like many of us, I also spent more time out in nature during the pandemic. Similarly to Imants Zemzaris and Konstantin Treplyov, on my long walks near my home I thought a lot about art's mission in the world, I listened to the calls of the seagulls against the backdrop of the sea, and I truly felt the might of the element of water, just like in Rachmaninov's music. And that is what this album is about about the majesty of nature and the fragility of the soul." - Daumants Liepiņš

Reviews

Sensitive, imaginative, in full command of his instrument's resources, Liepins effortlessly keeps the listener transfixed...This is a deeply satisfying album. Geoff Brown

The Times