Marek Kozák's new album featuring Rachmaninoff’s transcriptions
16. 3. 2026 — News
Supraphon is releasing a new album by pianist Marek Kozák, which presents an exceptionally demanding yet still neglected repertoire: Sergei Rachmaninoff's piano transcriptions. The compositions, which were written mainly between 1921 and 1929, offer an original insight into the composer's personality and his phenomenal piano technique. Although they stand in the shadow of his famous piano concertos, they are among the highlights of his oeuvre. The album will be released by Supraphon on March 20, 2026 on CD and in digital formats.
Rachmaninoff's transcriptions place him alongside Liszt and Busoni – they combine a deep respect for the original, compositional invention, and brilliant sound aesthetics. Among the most significant are Mendelssohn's Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream, three movements from Bach's Partita in E major, BWV 1006, and Tchaikovsky's intimate Lullaby, which symbolically concluded the composer's work in 1941.
After his successful debut with forgotten Czech piano concertos (Kovařovic, Bořkovec, Kaprálová – Supraphon March 2024), Marek Kozák enters another world of interpretation, combining virtuozity, precision, and a deep understanding of the composer. "Rachmaninoff's transcriptions are not mere conversions, but true creative transformations. They are a concentrated demonstration of his genius," says Marek Kozák about the project.
The album was created in an exceptionally focused atmosphere, and the pianist presents the transcriptions as unique, dramatically rich, and emotionally precise miniatures that deserve their place on concert stages and in the consciousness of a wide audience.
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