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Lebrecht Weekly | Beethoven: 1st piano concerto, &c (DG)

By Norman Lebrecht on 29 September 2023 Lebrecht Weekly, Orchestral, Piano

This weirdly unbalanced album opens with a live performance of Beethoven’s first piano concerto and continues with solo pieces from the bottom drawer, some of which are little higher than kindergarten level in difficulty. No explanation is offered in the glossy booklet. To work out what’s really going on, you’ll have to delve into the background of Alice Sara Ott, the German-Japanese soloist who, four years ago, made it known that she had been stricken with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative condition. In sympathy and solidarity, her record label has been quietly gathering her unreleased material while Alice continues to enhance…

New Releases (September 2023)

By Wah Keung Chan on 1 September 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Opera, Piano, World Music

This section is an advertising supplement. To announce here, contact [email protected]. Kevin Lau: Under a Veil of Stars Kevin Lau Rachel Mercer, cello; Scott St. John, violin; Angela Park, piano Leaf Music LM273; release date Sept. 15, 2023 Kevin Lau: Under A Veil of Stars invites you to explore the spectrum of human emotions and experiences. Across nine captivating tracks, each brimming with its own distinct mood and theme, Kevin Lau’s composition invites you to interpret their profound meaning through the prism of your own unique perspective. This album was recorded in a studio at Western University in London, Ont.,…

CD Review | Tribute to François Dompierre (ATMA Classique, 2023)

By Justin Bernard on 16 August 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Movie soundtrack music, Piano, Quebec Music

Hommage à François Dompierre Louise Bessette, piano; François Dompierre, composer and piano ATMA Classique, 2023 We rarely hear Louise Bessette in this light. To celebrate François Dompierre’s 80th birthday, the pianist offers us arrangements of film music, and other selections, all of which played a role in establishing the reputation of the Quebec composer, himself a pianist. “Most are piano reductions (…); others are adaptations of radio improvisations. Finally, a few were written especially for her, and are dedicated to her,” explains the composer, in the album’s booklet. These include Entre mer et chanterelles, written in honour of his former…

CD Review | Schubert: Architect (Analekta, 2023)

By Pietro Freiburger on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Piano, Romantic

Schubert: Architect Mathieu Gaudet, piano Analekta, 2023 Architect features Schubert’s Sonata in B major B. 575, the 2 Scherzi and Trio D. 593 and the Sonata in C minor D. 958. Gaudet continues to interpret Schubert masterfully—balancing lyricism and warmth with measure and sobriety. Sonata No. 9 D. 575, published posthumously, is interpreted in all four movements with vivid contrasts in sound and character. The Scherzo and the Allegro are exemplary in brilliance as well as composure, while the Andante is almost moving in intimacy and sweetness. These contrasts are also present in the 2 Scherzi. The first, reminiscent of…

CD Review | Schumann & Brahms (Decca, 2023)

By Pietro Freiburger on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Piano, Romantic

Schumann & Brahms Benjamin Grosvenor, piano Decca, 2023 One of the most original and gifted pianists of our time, Benjamin Grosvenor’s playing is marked by its unconventionality, the sudden and extreme changes of colour, a unique management of time. His extremely clear and limpid touch make him a true genius of contemporary piano, and these qualities come to light in an impressive way on this CD. There is always a light in Grosvenor’s interpretations. Even in a complex and sometimes twisted piece like Kreisleriana, which opens this recording, the young pianist manages to locate a clarity and positivity so rare…

CD Review | Schumann: Kreisleriana & Geistervariationen – Widmann: Elf Humoresken (Analekta, 2023)

By Pietro Freiburger on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Piano

Schumann: Kreisleriana & Geistervariationen – Widmann: Elf Humoresken Aaron Pilsan, piano Analekta, 2023 Austrian pianist Aaron Pilsan shows imaginative and intense pianism, as well as remarkable maturity despite his young age. Kreisleriana is interpreted with an appropriate inner turmoil. One of Schumann’s most complex works, the piece is played with incredible emotional variation. The contrast between the soul of Florestano and that of Eusebius, the eternal struggle between reason and feeling, is audible from the beginning. Piece No. 5, Sehr lebhaft, is emblematic of Schumannian poetics: endowed with an enormous emotional depth that cannot emerge in all its disruptive force…

CD Review | Brahms in Solitude (Self-published, 2023)

By Meg Freer on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Piano, Romantic

Brahms in Solitude Jarred Dunn, piano Self-published, 2023 This album’s 11 pieces create a well-planned trajectory through Brahms’s poetic music, and Jarred Dunn demonstrates a natural ability in performing this music. The album opens with three pieces from Klavierstücke Op. 118, perhaps the most well-known opus of Brahms’s late piano music. Dunn gives us a taste of Brahms’s various meditative styles: first, the dramatic and emotional Intermezzo in A minor; then, the lyrical Intermezzo in A major (the Brahms Intermezzo), beautifully played with interior lines of counterpoint; and ending with the foreboding, intense, chromatically colourful Intermezzo in E-flat minor. Two…

CD Review | Néo-Romance (Secret City Records, 2023)

By Zenith Wolfe on 31 July 2023 CD and Book Reviews, Piano, Romantic

Néo-Romance Secret City Records, 2023 Alexandra Stréliski, piano and organ; Natalia Kotarba, violin; Fayçal Cheboub, viola; Julia Kotarba, cello; Pierre-Olivier Rioux, double-bass Although Néo-Romance plays with the romantic genre in inventive ways, the musical fidelity is overshadowed by a glaring audio quality issue. The works on this album are initially reminiscent of slow, meditative, romantic solo piano repertoire until The first kiss surprises the listener with the addition of cello and violin. These bring a great deal of emotional weight and dynamism to the album. In Air de famille, however, listeners may begin hearing the felt striking the piano’s strings…

June 17, 2023. Winners of the Cliburn International Junior Competition are from left second place Yifan Wu (China,14), first place Seokyoung Hong (South Korea, 15) and third place Jan Schulmeister (Czechia, 16) at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Tx. (Photo by Ralph Lauer)

Newswire | South Korean Seokyoung Hong Wins 2023 Cliburn Junior

By Newswire on 17 June 2023 Music Competition, Newswire, Piano

DALLAS, Texas, June 17, 2023—After 12 days of thrilling competition at Caruth Auditorium at SMU and this afternoon’s Final Round Concert with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and conductor Valentina Peleggi at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, the winners of the 2023 Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival were announced on Saturday evening. The Winners Bernice Gressman Meyerson First Prize cash award of $15,000 Seokyoung Hong 홍석영, 15, South Korea Shirley Cox McIntyre Second Prize cash award of $10,000 Yifan Wu 吴一凡, 14, China The Horchow Family Third Prize cash award of $5,000 Jan Schulmeister, 16, Czechia Each finalist…

Newswire | Finalists Announced for the 2023 Cliburn Junior

By Newswire on 15 June 2023 Classical Music, Music Competition, Newswire, Piano

DALLAS, Texas, June 15, 2023—Janina Fialkowska, chairman of the Jury for the 2023 Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival (taking place June 8–17, 2023, at Caruth Auditorium at SMU and Meyerson Symphony Center) is proud to announce the three pianists advancing to the Final Round. The Final Round will take place this Saturday, June 17, beginning at 2:30 p.m. CT, at Meyerson Symphony Center, where each finalist will perform a full concerto with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Valentina Peleggi. Tickets to attend the Final Round in person are on sale now at Cliburn.org. The concert will also…

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