Récital de Saint-Pétersbourg

Dmitry Bortniansky, Ukrainian by birth, was the first great composer of the Russian imperial school. He left his native Ukraine at the age of seven to perfect his talents in Saint Petersburg and became one of the most prominent musicians at the court of Catherine the Great, particularly for his great choral pieces in Old Slavonic. 

His keyboard pieces, which have been recorded very little, are much less well known but very beautiful, and in this album devoted to the music played in Saint Petersburg at the end of the 18th century, Olivier Baumont introduces us to three of them, coupled with pieces by other local composers (Karaulov, Gurilyov) or invited from abroad (Paisiello, Manfredini), often dedicated to Empress Catherine, which give us a glimpse of the richness of musical life at this brilliant court.