Ralph van Raat & Håkon Austbø play Messiaen & Debussy

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Austbo's affinity with Messiaen is frequently apparent: the Norwegian pianist's hushed, nuanced voicing in 'Amen du desir' suggests his deep awareness, too, of Catalogue d'oiseaux...Austbo and... — BBC Music Magazine, August 2012, 3 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 26th Mar 2012
Catalogue No: 8572472
Label: Naxos
Length: 62 minutes

Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days

Debussy: En blanc et noir

Work length15:06

$3.00

$3.90

Ralph van Raat, Håkon Austbø

I. Avec emportement

Track length4:17

$1.00

$1.30

II. Lent. Sombre

Track length6:32

$1.00

$1.30

III. Scherzando

Track length4:17

$1.00

$1.30

Messiaen: Visions de l'Amen for 2 pianos

Work length47:00

$12.00

$15.55

Ralph van Raat, Håkon Austbø

I. Amen de la Creation

Track length5:50

$1.00

$1.30

II. Amen des etoiles, de la planete a l'anneau

Track length5:34

$1.00

$1.30

III. Amen de l'Agonie de Jesus

Track length7:15

$2.00

$2.60

IV. Amen du Desir

Track length10:14

$3.00

$3.85

V. Amen des Anges, des Saints, du chant des oiseaux

Track length7:29

$2.00

$2.60

VI. Amen du Jugement

Track length2:45

$1.00

$1.30

VII. Amen de la Consommation

Track length7:53

$2.00

$2.60

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About

Both the works on this recording were written during wartime. Debussy’s 1915 En blanc et noir, composed during a late creative burst, is his musical response to the horrors of World War I. Messiaen’s revolutionary Visions de l’Amen from 1943, written to be performed by the composer and his teenage pupil, Yvonne Loriod, is a profound religious meditation whose emotional intensity is overwhelming. The role of the two pianos is clearly divided. Melodic and expressive elements are confined to the second piano, Messiaen’s part, whereas all that is percussion, brilliance and rhythmic development is heard in the first piano, Loriod’s part.

Dutch pianist and musicologist Ralph van Raat has won, among other awards, Second Prize and Donemus-Prize (for Contemporary Music) of the Princess Christina Competition (1995); Stipend-Prize Darmstadt during the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Darmstadt (1998); and First Prize of the International Gaudeamus Interpreters Competition (1999). Of Norwegian origin, Håkon Austbø was the first non-French artist to win the Concours National de la Guilde Française des Artistes Solistes in Paris (1970), and in 1971 he gained international attention when a unanimous jury awarded him the first prize of the Olivier Messiaen Competition for Contemporary Music in Royan, France.

Reviews

August 2012

Austbo's affinity with Messiaen is frequently apparent: the Norwegian pianist's hushed, nuanced voicing in 'Amen du desir' suggests his deep awareness, too, of Catalogue d'oiseaux...Austbo and Van Raat launch into Debussy's En blanc et noir with bristling enthusiasm, and there is much charm on display.

July 2012

[In the Messiaen] Van Raat and Austbo shape the first movement's long paragraphs wth a patience, sensitivity and rhythmic exactitude that slowly build to a climax...At piano 2, Austbo has most of the tunes and he particularly shines in the fourth movement's extended solo...collectors interested in this coupling of works can't go wrong

June 2012

Good programming this, as Messiaen’s musical language owes much to the harmonic adventurism of his illustrious compatriot...Impressive, well-presented performances; just a little short on fervour and insight.

19th April 2012

Their approach, characterised by fierce dynamic contrasts, jagged phrasing and explosive fortissimos, suits Messiaen's highly coloured extremes of rapture and religious awe far more convincingly than it does Debussy's much more svelte textures, in which van Raat and Austbo seem to mistake capriciousness for emotional turmoil.

Ralph van Raat & Håkon Austbø play Messiaen & Debussy

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