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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Fauré - Piano Quartets Nos. 1 & 2
Following an invitation from Saint-Saëns, Fauré joined the Société Nationale de Musique in 1871. Here he became acquainted with Franck, D’Indy, Bizet and other prominent French musicians. The Society set itself the mission of promoting French music and offering a forum for the circulation of orchestral and chamber works. The Society was to have a great influence on Fauré. In an interview in 1922, he spoke “The truth is that, before 1870, I would not have dreamt of composing a sonata or quartet. Only when Saint- Saëns founded the Société did I set about doing so.” And in fact almost all Fauré's chamber works had their premieres under the auspices of the Société Nationale de Musique Kathryn Stott is an internationally acknowledged interpreter of Fauré’s piano music. BBC Music Magazine recently wrote, ‘Kathryn Stott reinforces her position as one of the finest Fauré interpreters of her generation’. She has also been behind several major festivals and concert series. For her involvement in ‘Fauré and the French Connection’ she was appointed Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French government. She has long wished to record Fauré’s hauntingly beautiful two piano quartets, but was looking for the right ensemble. She has found that in the form of the Hermitage String Trio, a group she has toured with on a number of occasions. The Strad recently wrote of the group, "This ensemble will do much to put more string trio repertory on the musical map" The quartets are presented with the solo piano work, Nocturne No.4; a unique combination and fresh interpretations, recorded in warm Chandos sound. Founded in 2004, The Hermitage String Trio soon established itself as among the finest ensembles of its type. Steeped in the renowned Russian tradition of string playing, the members of this European-based Russian trio possess a love of chamber music that shines through in their programmes. “Stott and the Heritage Trio imbue the hushed sections with a sense of eerie menace, refusing to smooth the edges, which is certainly not to say they are rough and ready elsewhere...the exquisite account by Stott of the fourth Nocturne is the icing on the cake.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2010 **** | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Fauré: Piano Music
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| |  | Roger Muraro: Reflets (Reflections)
With ‘Reflets’ (reflections), Roger Muraro proposes a new look at the Concerto in G through the prism of composers who influenced Ravel, from Gershwin, Stravinsky to Faure. Recorded with Roger Muraro’s long standing accomplices, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under the baton of Myung-Whun Chung, the Concerto in G takes on a new dynamic dimension in the company of Ravel’s contemporaries. Astonishing and irresistible. “Muraro, making his debut on DG, is an impressively strong-arm pianist and his energy and enthusiasm are infectious. More volatile than poised, he is at his best in Ravel's La valse (his second recording)...His Gershwin is stunningly upfront, characterful and (in the two flanking Allegros) belligerent.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2012 | | | (Sorry, download not available in your country) | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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| |  | Fauré: Complete Piano Music Volume 2
Jean-Claude Pennetier (piano) An unclassifiable figure among his contemporaries, Gabriel Fauré created a new and wholly original style on the piano. This discreetly individual composer was inspired by the resources of the instrument to conceive music whose luminous, diaphanous sonorities always coupled with a firm transparency of texture. His extreme sensitivity in even his slightest works "discourages oafs, frivolous players and tourists, but speaks softly in the ear of those who deserve to hear", as Vladimir Jankélévitch wrote. “Pennetier focuses on the intimate nature of some of Faure's loveliest early piano works, casting them in a serious light. A beautiful selection, sympathetically played, if sometimes a little ponderous.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2011 **** “In the Second Nocturne we are pleasantly roused by a sudden urgency of effect - this is about as fiery as Faure gets, and Pennetier doesn't hold back...The First Impromptu is a really strong reading also; one might actually say that this is ideal Faure playing: buoyant, smiling, flexible, yet majestic where needed.” International Record Review, February 2012 | | | Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days. |
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Instead of ordering the nocturnes chronologically, Stefan Irmer has deliberately juxtaposed pieces from the romantic works of the Paris salons and late works, already clearly verging on the limits of tonality. The result is a colourful and varied programme featuring works from fifty full years of Fauré’s life. These pieces allow Irmer to demonstrate his flawless and sparkling technique. | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Belle EpoqueA portrait of Gabriel Fauré
Fauré: | Barcarolle No. 6 in E flat major Op. 70 Nocturne No. 6 in D flat major, Op. 63 Pavane, Op. 50 arr. Roy Howat and Wendy Hiscocks Thème & Variations, Op. 73 Barcarolle No. 5 in F sharp minor Op. 66 Nocturne No. 1 in E flat minor, Op. 33 No. 1 Mazurka, Op. 32 Barcarolle No. 7 in D minor Op. 90 Nocturne No. 9 in B minor, Op. 97 Barcarolle No. 8 in D flat major Op. 96 Nocturne No. 12 in E minor, Op. 107 Souvenirs de Bayreuth Quadrille on popular motifs from Wagner's Ring, composed in collaboration with André Messager Air de danse from Caligula, Op. 52 Premier recording of original piano duet Dolly Suite, Op. 56 Nocturne No. 4 in E flat major Op. 36 Piece en forme de Mazurka Premiere recording Prelude Premiere recording Pièces brèves (8), Op. 84 Nocturne No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 37 Sicilienne, Op. 78 Nocturne No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 74 Barcarolle No. 4 in A flat major Op. 44 Nocturne No. 10 in E minor, Op. 99 Nocturne No. 13 in B minor, Op. 119 |
Roy Howat (piano) with Emily Kilpatrick (piano) 2CDs for price of 1 This exquisite collection benefits from Roy Howat’s dedicated scholarship and performance of French music and with duo partner Emily Kilpatrick illuminates Fauré’s piano music, beautifully portraying the elegance and lyricism that was the Belle Epoque. Includes three world premieres. “Stripping away the precious aura of roses and incense...Howat notes the composer's preference for strict tempos, many of which are brisker here than usual...An original concept album, then, that wears its erudition lightly; one that I will return to with great enjoyment many times.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2010 **** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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Gabriel Fauré's set of thirteen Nocturnes for solo piano contain some of the most beautiful and original pieces that the composer created. Their composition over half a century (1870 - 1921) charts the development
of a highly personal voice beginning with the Chopinesque early works and
culminating in the passionate outpourings of the final masterpieces. “Charles Owen is an affectionate and unassuming guide, disinclined to impose himself on music whose subtlety is easily destroyed by over-emphasis.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2008 “Owen is obviously completely at home in these sometimes elusive works and he plays them beautifully, with subtle feeling for their colour. He is very well recorded.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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| |  | Saint-Saëns - Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 5
Recorded at the famous Victoria Hall in Geneva “Saint-Saëns's… piano concertos are fascinating works on many fronts, but not least for the balance they seem to hold between the wild Romantic and the contained Classical composer. Thibaudet subscribes rather to the latter view.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2007 ***** “This scintillating disc finds Jean-Yves Thibaudet on notably effervescent form, revelling in Saint-Saëns's pianistic brio and intricacy. He makes a special case for the enchanting but still neglected Egyptian Concerto, commenced in Luxor, completed in Cairo and, according to the composer, reflecting 'the joy of a sea voyage'.
He brings a recognisably French clarity and verve to the music's foaming figuration and captures all of its audacity (an imitation of croaking Nile frogs in the central Andante and pumping boat engines in the riotous finale).
Hear his pin-point brilliance in the opening Allegro animato where the pianist weaves a sparkling thread round the orchestral outline, his fast-paced avoidance of sententiousness in the long-winded Andante and his rush of adrenalin in the split octave upsurge at the end of the concluding Molto allegro, and you are made conscious of a pianist whose virtuosity takes wing in exactly the way prescribed by the composer.
Much the same could be said of Thibaudet's performance of the Second Concerto, music which as one writer put it journeys from Bach to Offenbach. His ad libitum opening cadenza is complemented by flashing fingers elsewhere, and since there is inwardness as well as an irresistible élan and impetus in the Franck Variations, you could say that Thibaudet and France (or in Franck's case, Belgium) go together like a horse and carriage. Dutoit and the Suisse Romande are all of a piece with their high-flying soloist and Decca's balance and sound are exemplary.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 “This scintillating disc finds Jean-Yves Thibaudet in notably effervescent form, revelling in Saint-Saëns's pianistic brio and intricacy. Dutoit and the Suisse Romande are all of a piece with their high-flying soloist and Decca's balance and sound are exemplary.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2007 “[On Thibaudet's playing of the Saint Saens Piano Concerto No.2] brilliant, heartless, Parisian, and Thibaudet rode it like a powerful horse, getting into a sure-footed rhythm, leaping every fence…” The Independent | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Faure: Nocturnes / Preludes
Jean-Paul Sevilla (piano) | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Rediscovered Master: Madeleine de ValmalèteRecordings 1928 to 1992
Madeleine de Valmalète (piano) A unique master musician, de Valmalète's interpretations are not bound to any time. Her individuality shone throughout a life which lasted one hundred years. Her performance of Ravel's Tombeau de Couperin is the first recording ever made of the work. A memoir by Idil Biret is included in the text. These recordings reveal de Valmalète as one of the greatest pianists of the Twentieth Century. | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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