Prokofiev: Toccata in D minor, Op. 11

To celebrate 10 years of recording activity with Lise de la Salle, aged only 24 years-old, with 6 discs under her belt, Naive are delighted to offer this 'best of' that collects an impressive series of outstanding performances in diverse repertoire.

The bonus DVD includes a 93' recital recorded in one of Paris' most beautiful concert places: Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord. The programme includes works by Schumann, which Lise de la Salle has recording here for the first time. She continues to develop an impressive international concert schedule, in recital and in concerto.

Musorgsky’s musical tribute to the painter and architect Viktor Hartmann has become his most familiar work, and this recording presents the original piano version of Pictures at an Exhibition. It is an extraordinary work, combining intense demands for virtuoso technique with an inexorable momentum which keeps what is fundamentally an impressionistic work in many movements moving towards its grand climax with the ‘Great Gate of Kiev’ finale.

Prokofiev is one of those composers who would constantly reuse material from one work in another. However, although the Ten Pieces from Romeo and Juliet may seem at first glance to be merely a medley gleaned from the more famous ballet, it should not be forgotten that Prokofiev published the set independently and that it was first performed the year before the finished ballet, perhaps by way of an advertisement for the more challenging (financially, at least) work to follow. Also included here is Prokofiev’s Toccata, written in 1912 while he was at the St Petersburg Conservatoire. The work was possibly conceived as a movement of the Second Piano Sonata, but Prokofiev evidently decided the work was worthy of publication in its own right.

Prokofiev’s sonatas nos. 7 and 8 are the so called 'War' Sonatas, as they were composed in one of the darkest periods of history, the 2nd World War. Though there are no direct programmatic hints to the war, the atmosphere is brooding, menacing, even sinister in places. Episodes of quasi-innocent lyricism alternate with outbursts of threatening violence.

The young Russian pianist Amir Tebenikhin presents gripping and compelling interpretations of these works. Eschewing obvious and 'sportive' virtuosity, he delves deep into hidden layers of emotions, seeking the inner power and truth of these masterworks.

Amir Tebenikhin enjoys a worldwide career, giving concerts in Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Salle Pleyel and others. He is prize winner of International Competitions (Vianna da Motta, Queen Elisabeth, Anton Rubinstein Competition), and was in 2011 awarded the Deutscher Pianistenpreis.

These archival recordings from the 1920s and 1930s of Prokoviev interpreting his own compositions will be of great interest. They reflect different aspects of his works. The collection includes a famous recording of his Piano Concerto No.3 with the London Symphony Orchestra.

An eminent Chopin specialist and also a feisty proponent of the Prokofiev concertos, Abdel Rahman El Bacha is the ideal interpreter for these piano works, which range from the futurist strains of the Toccata Op.11 (1912) to the 'fleeting visions' of Op.22 (1917), by way of the 'Gavotte' and 'Rigaudon' of the 'Ten Pieces' Op.12 and the 'Sarcasmes' Op.17. Amid this diversity, the Sonata No.2 Op.14 reverts to Classical models. Here on a single disc are all the solo piano works of the young Prokoviev's last years in Russia.

Acclaimed by The Guardian and described by International Piano Magazine as “an armour-clad player of complete technique…”, Chen burst onto the scene in 1996 with a sensational season of concerts having been awarded 8 coveted awards at the Royal Academy of Music including ‘Best Final Recital’.