Piano Icons For The 21st Century was widely acclaimed upon its release and named a Gramophone 'Critics' Choice': "my disc of 2000 is without hesitation Elena Riu's extraordinarily fine CD." John Tavener was inspired to write his first major solo work for piano in over twenty years after hearing Elena play. She premiered Ypakoë, a series of meditations on the death of Jesus, at the City of London Festival.

The programme also includes Janáček's In The Mist, an intensely personal and darkly hued cycle, plus an intriguing collection of miniatures by three composers who, in her view, are on a similar wavelength: Peter Sculthorpe, the late Catalan composer Federico Mompou, and Arvo Pärt.