Khatia Buniatishvili: Motherland

An intimate album of solo piano works from Bach to Arvo Pärt. Classic FM Drive Featured Album, 2 June 2014.

Described as 'the young Georgian firebrand', Khatia Buniatishvili is a thrillingly talented pianist who blends technical brilliance with a uniquely sorrowful sound which is heavily influenced by the Georgian folk-music she grew up with.

This album came in at No.13 in Classic FM's Album of the Year 2014. See the full chart here >

'The piano is the blackest instrument,' she has said, a 'symbol of musical solitude…' And that's very apparent on her new album, following on from a critically acclaimed Chopin recording, which shows off this highly personal approach with solo piano works, ranging from Bach to Arvo Pärt, in which the themes of longing for home, folk dance and the eternal cycle of growth and decay are explored. 

Spanning a broad stylistic and historical range, including pieces from Georgia itself, Motherland juxtaposes the happy lightness of a ‘Slavonic Dance’ by Dvorak with the graceful introspection of Liszt’s ‘Lullaby’. Throughout them all, Buniatishvili plays with her characteristic grace, sensitivity and beauty.