Debussy: Nocturne

For the final volume in his Debussy edition for ONYX, Pascal Roge is joined by his wife Ami in a collection of works for piano 4 hands and for 2 pianos.

Since the release of Volume 1 Preludes I & II in 2005, Roge’s recordings of Debussy have been received with critical acclaim. He is the quintessential interpreter for this repertoire.

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet here offers the third volume in his series devoted to the complete works for piano by Debussy. The music now moves to a more playful strand in Debussy’s compositional career, with generally shorter pieces of the salon genre, including the two famous collections Children’s Corner and Suite bergamasque.

In addition to these well-known works are several that are more rarely heard. Two such are La plus que lente, which seems to look ahead to the Études of 1915, and Élégie. Roger Nichols describes the former as ‘one of his most delightful pieces… the harmonic turns are particularly sophisticated and enchanting’. The Élégie was written in 1915 following the composer’s move to the coast. The outbreak of the First World War had initially depressed Debussy into a state of creative sterility but the move was to prove most productive. The Élégie was written for a charity and, dedicated to Queen Alexandra, honours the role of women in wartime. It is now rarely performed but Roger Nichols writes, ‘it is one of the composer’s most extraordinary works… and we are left wondering what on earth Debussy would have written in the 1920s and beyond’.

Bavouzet’s previous two volumes have been very well received both critically and commercially. In a recent review of volume two the LA Times wrote, ‘In what may turn out to be the greatest complete recorded survey of the composer’s piano music yet, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet… plays with such bracing clarity that hearing the early Romantic pieces, one feels like jumping into an icy pond after an hour in the sauna’. Of the same volume International Record Review has noted, ‘I had the highest praise for Jean-Efflam Bavouzet’s first volume of Debussy, and the present disc is fully the equal of that one in terms of colour, refinement of touch, spontaneity and technical finish… Bavouzet has written that his Debussy playing has been influenced by that of Gieseking, Michelangeli and Richter. You may hear something of each of these pianists in his playing but more than that you will hear his own distinctive and special voice’.

This series is a deeply personal project for Bavouzet who has been involved in all aspects of the recording process.

Also available as part of the Debussy - The Piano Works box set, ALC4002.

A gorgeous disc of wonderfully lyrical nocturnes written for solo piano and performed here by Sira Hernandez. Includes repertoire from John Field, Borodin, Scriabin, Satie, Britten and many more.

Sono Luminus is proud to present this two-disc set from pianist Michael Landrum, 'Nocturnes', bringing together a plethora of composers’ works that enliven the nocturne genre of music.

A native of Augusta, Georgia, Michael Landrum received the Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin College and the Master of Fine Arts degree from California Institute of the Arts. After earning his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Temple University, he became Professor of Music and Film Studies at Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, New York.

In 1976, Mr Landrum won first prize in the J S Bach International Competition for Pianists in Washington DC. During his doctoral studies in Philadelphia, Michael Landrum was a student of Harvey Wedeen. He also studied for a number of years with Edna Golandsky in New York City and was a frequent participant in master classes with Dorothy Taubman. In June of 2005, he presented a Nocturne Lecture/Recital at Columbia Artists Management Hall in New York.

The nocturne genre has long been a topic of interest to Mr Landrum. He has had the opportunity to share his insights into this ever-evolving repertoire on many occasions throughout the country.

Appropriately, the young Russian pianist Amir Tebenikhin performs works by Debussy which include Ballade which was very much influenced by Tchaikovsky. Danse bohémienne and the Arabesques also have Eastern influences. This is the second CD in the Blüthner-Debussy collection.

Debussy’s most popular and famous piano piece opens this generously-filled 2-CD programme of piano and orchestral works by the great French composer; Clair de lune is also heard in an orchestral version which opens CD 2.

An Album of popular and not so well known romantic piano works.

Helen Reid makes her debut for Omnibus Classics

Helen Reid first came to public attention when she reached the Keyboard finals of the BBC Young Musician of the Year. She has given recitals at venues including the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Fairfield Halls and Blackheath Halls, London, St. George’s, Bristol, Cheltenham, the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester and the Aldeburgh and Buxton Festivals. In 2006 she was named a ‘rising star’ in The Independent. Helen is professor of piano at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Trinity College of Music Junior Department.

“It was clear we were in not only capable but rather a special pair of hands…Reid’s beautifully poised, tenderly imagined and finely focused playing re-educated and refined the ear.” Hilary Finch, The Times