This is the third album of the talented pianist Vesselin Stanev that Gega New releases. He was born in Varna, Bulgaria in 1964 and studied under Prof. Dmitry Bashkirov at the Moscow Conservatoire. While still a student, he took part in prestigious piano competitions: the P. I. Tchaikovsky International Competition (Moscow, 1982) and the Marguetite Long International Competition (Paris, 1986). He received awards at both competitions. Between 1988 and 1990 Vesselin Stanev specialized with Alexis Weisenberg in Paris and at the same time started an international career (currently he lives in France and Switzerland). He has been on numerous tours and recitals in Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Japan, Bulgaria, Russia. His appearances have inevitably been accompanied by favourable reviews of his art, remarking on his exceptional technique, virtuosity, and musical individuality, which sets him apart from most excellent, but "ordinary" pianists.
The present release features two big piano works from the age of Romanticism. Both works are characteristic for the Romantic style with their more liberal construction and instrumental forms, with their dramatic development, interesting combination of thematic centres and melodic motifs. Even though there are a number of registered recordings of these two works, Vesselin Stanev's interpretation enriches our concept of the stylistic method of Schumann and Liszt.
 
Recorded in Bulgaria Concert Hall, Sofia, January 2001