"pascal Roge" Satie Gymnopedies

At the outset, George Gershwin's Concerto in F & Maurice Ravel's Concerto in G major looked promising; Pascal Rogé is well-established as an expert interpreter of Ravel and the Gershwin Concerto in F and Ravel Concerto in G major are often programmed together on recordings by virtue of some stylistic compatibility. This Oehms Classics release is an SACD, and recordings heard heretofore in the format have been nothing less than spectacular. Now that the journey is complete, however, it is clear that Gershwin: Concerto in F; Ravel: Concerto in G major falls short of its potential in several respects.

At the outset, George Gershwin's Concerto in F & Maurice Ravel's Concerto in G major looked promising; Pascal Rogé is well-established as an expert interpreter of Ravel and the Gershwin Concerto in F and Ravel Concerto in G major are often programmed together on recordings by virtue of some stylistic compatibility. This Oehms Classics release is an SACD, and recordings heard heretofore in the format have been nothing less than spectacular. Now that the journey is complete, however, it is clear that Gershwin: Concerto in F; Ravel: Concerto in G major falls short of its potential in several respects.

Pascal Rogé, long considered the greatest exponent of French piano repertoire is joined by his pianist wife Ami in a program devoted to Les Six – the group of composers brought together by Jean Cocteau in 1917 and who created a musical reaction to the suffocating influence of German romanticism upon French musical culture. Based in Montparnasse the name was inspired by Balakirev’s ‘The Five’ and the journalist Henri Collet’s 1920 article ‘Les cinq Russians, les six Français, et M.Satie’. Satie gets a look in on this album with his ‘Parade’ closing the programme. The album includes the 1920 L’Album des Six, Scaramouche by Milhaud, Cinq Bagatelles for piano 4 hands by Auric, Two Pieces for 4 hands op.7 by Durey and works by Honegger and Tailleferre.

Erik Satie occupe une place à part, musicien insaisissable dont on peut mesurer l'importance par l’influence qu’il exerça sur des compositeurs tels que Ravel, Stravinski ou même Debussy, qui était son ami. Son oeuvre pour piano la plus célèbre est sans doute le recueil des Trois Gymnopédies (1888), songe éveillé de la Grèce antique dont la lumineuse transparence va de paire avec une écriture parfaite. Denis Pascal en restitue ici toutes les couleurs, sublimant chaque nuance, chaque phrasé, donnant à la musique de Satie une modernité nouvelle.

Erik Satie is a beacon around which all kinds of musicians never cease to turn and marvel. And it’s been the case for more than 100 years. American minimalists (Glass, Reich, Adams, Riley, La Monte Young) today recognize in him a kind of spiritual father. Through this double-disc, I wanted to pay a tribute to him, through his works but also those of his friends, his followers and his heirs. I thus discovered new works never recorded (Cliquet-Pleyel, Mesens, Dortu, Fargeat) and also generated new compositions. My personal approach to sincerity also led me to choose, for the interpretation of his works, a piano that he could have known: a Blüthner from 1900. As a historically well-informed musician, the last track of the first disc, Je te veux, has been recorded on Pleyel droit from 1923, not very well tuned, with hazardous mechanics and a good cabaret taste.

As with many episodes in Franz Schubert’s life, uncertainty surrounds the origins of his two trios for piano, violin and cello. We know that they were played to a Viennese audience, one on 26 December 1827 and the other on 26 March 1828, but not in which order. Although it is more likely that the Trio no. 1 in B flat major op. 99 was performed before the Trio no. 2 in E flat major op. 100, musicologists remain divided on the subject.

As with many episodes in Franz Schubert’s life, uncertainty surrounds the origins of his two trios for piano, violin and cello. We know that they were played to a Viennese audience, one on 26 December 1827 and the other on 26 March 1828, but not in which order. Although it is more likely that the Trio no. 1 in B flat major op. 99 was performed before the Trio no. 2 in E flat major op. 100, musicologists remain divided on the subject.

After winning the Prix de Rome for his cantata Fernand in 1839 and spending two years in Rome, Gounod should have gone on to study in Germany, but he managed in 1842 to persuade the authorities that he should remain in Rome to work on a symphony. In 1843 he visited Mendelssohn who (while trying to dissuade him from wasting his time on Goethes Faust!) urged him to write another symphony. We do not know how much of the First Symphony Gounod had completed by then, but it is not surprising that Mendelssohn figures as one of the key influences on both symphonies. After performances of individual movements in 1855, premieres were given of the First Symphony on 4 March that year and of the Second Symphony on 13 February 1856. Yan Pascal Tortelier and his Iceland Symphony Orchestra demonstrate outstanding precision and musicality in these unjustly neglected works.

After winning the Prix de Rome for his cantata Fernand in 1839 and spending two years in Rome, Gounod should have gone on to study in Germany, but he managed in 1842 to persuade the authorities that he should remain in Rome to work on a symphony. In 1843 he visited Mendelssohn who (while trying to dissuade him from wasting his time on Goethes Faust!) urged him to write another symphony. We do not know how much of the First Symphony Gounod had completed by then, but it is not surprising that Mendelssohn figures as one of the key influences on both symphonies. After performances of individual movements in 1855, premieres were given of the First Symphony on 4 March that year and of the Second Symphony on 13 February 1856. Yan Pascal Tortelier and his Iceland Symphony Orchestra demonstrate outstanding precision and musicality in these unjustly neglected works.

Akropolis Reed Quintet, composer/pianist Pascal Le Boeuf, and drummer Christian Euman join forces on the electrifying album Are We Dreaming The Same Dream? Le Boeuf’s album-length composition examines what Ralph Ellison calls “the unity of American experience” by recognizing his musical ancestors — Geri Allen, Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus, Bill T. Jones, and Leonard Bernstein. His composition asks: Are we really dreaming the same American dream, or is our consumer culture overshadowing our own sense of belonging?