Steeped in the traditional aesthetic of Russian classical music thanks to studies with Boris Romanov and Lyudmila Romanova, gifted Macedonian pianist Simon Trpčeski picked up a flair for drama and romance from his mentors. While he has played and advocated the work of contemporary composers from his homeland, he is known best for his fluency with Russian music, whether the pyrotechnics of Rachmaninoff’s solo pieces or the folk dances captured in Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Trpčeski’s breadth can be heard weaving through the violin of Eldbjørg Hemsing on Grieg’s Violin Sonata or instilling thunder in Chopin’s “Funeral March”.