Bartók: Out of Doors, Sz. 81, BB89 (Im Freien)

Piano virtuoso, Rolf Hind, performs repertoire which draws its inspiration from the country and countryside, bucolic revelry and folkloric nostalgia. Composers include Grainger, Finnissy, MacMillan, Janacek and Bartok.

Images brings together the piano music of George Crumb with that of two of his major influences, Claude Debussy and Béla Bartók, as well as that of one of his contemporaries, John Adams. All of these composers speak a common language - one that explores pianistic timbre in a distinctive, evocative manner. The unique sonorities of these works, particularly in combination with their descriptive titles, impart a sense of Images: some aural, some visual, and others more abstract.

An addition the DECCA Originals range to mark the 70th birthday of Stephen Kovacevich [17 October].

The original LP release containing Bartók's Sonata for two pianos and percussion with works by Mozart & Debussy won a Gramophone Award in 1978 for Best Chamber Music recording.

Stephen Kovacevich's recordings of Bartók have long been regarded as reference recordings, and also included in this reissue are his acclaimed performances of the Sonatina and Out of Doors.

Booklet contains an appreciation by David Gutman.

Béla Bartók's piano works often have a subordinate role as it is difficult to place them stylistically, and because they present an enormous technical challenge.This programme, performed by the young French pianist Nicholas Bringuier, presents works by Bartók written between 1909 and 1926. It takes both a courageous and superior interpreter to do justice to these works.

Roger Muraro conceived this anthology of piano music in homage to the great French pianist Claude Helffer (1922 – 2004). It offers a broad panorama of the keyboard’s aptitude for creation and its infinite possibilities, from the fading lights of Romanticism to the bright spotlights of Contemporary.