Chopin: Prelude Op. 28 No. 6 in B minor

Alexandra Dariescu presents the first disc in a 'Trilogy of Preludes' containing the complete works of this genre by Chopin and Dutilleux.

Frederic Chopin composed his 24 preludes, op.28, one in each of the 12 major and 12 minor keys, between 1835 and 1839, commissioned by the pianist, publisher, impresario and piano manufacturer Camille Pleyel.

Henri Dutilleux’s 3 Preludes were not designed as a set but composed at intervals between 1973 and 1994. Each Prelude is dedicated to a great Pianist: Artur Rubinstein (D’ombre et de silence), Claude Helffer (Sur um meme accord) and Eugene Istomin (Le jeu des contraries).

Alexandra finds the form of the Prelude as relevant today as in Chopin's time and was drawn to Dutilleux's use of polyphony and harmony in his fascinating contribution to an established genre.

Alexandra Dariescu is one of the most talented pianists of her generation and was featured as BBC Music Magazine’s Rising Star in June 2011. She has won the Guildhall Wigmore Prize and the Romanian Ambassador‘s prize for her outstanding contribution to promoting Romania’s image in the UK, and is currently a YCAT artist.

Master pianist Maurizio Pollini turned 70 on January 5th, 2012 and DG are celebrating this milestone birthday with a new album of breath-taking Chopin. Pollini’s Chopin recordings are his best-sellers – the complete Nocturnes, released in 2005, have sold more than 100,000 CDs to date.

Chopin: Preludes is a birthday programme of newly recorded solo works: Preludes op.28, four Mazurkas op.30, two Nocturnes op.27, and the Scherzo no.2 op.31. Pollini often feature Chopin’s works in his solo recitals – The Guardian raved, “... he still plays Chopin with the ease that floored even Rubinstein more than 50 years ago ...”

Recorded live at The Granary, Beccles U.K., this recital captures Pascal Rogé in the repertoire that has earned him the reputation as one of the world’s greatest interpreters of Chopin and the French repertoire.

Pascal Rogé is today’s greatest ambassador and stylist in French piano music. Winner of two Gramophone Awards, his name is synonymous over many years with the finest in French piano playing, both in concert and on disc for Decca, and now in Debussy for ONYX

Sheila Arnold’s performances show Chopin’s works in a new light; through the thrilling grasps of the perfomer, born in India and now a German pianist, who grapples intensively with historical instruments on all levels, producing a different sound and a complete new dimension on the pieces. She performs on an Érard Fortepiano (Paris 1839).

Idealised by romantic myth, Frédéric Chopin is one of the most celebrated composers in history. This virtuoso pianist devoted his whole output to his instrument and developed a unique style which made him “an extraordinary artist” (Berlioz). Here the musicians of harmonia mundi present some of his most famous pieces, a glimpse of the inner world of this genius who “made use of art solely to fulfil his own tragic destiny” (Liszt).