Anatol

Messiaen's Catalog of Birds for piano is one of the wonders of modern music, a work apart from schools, movement, intellectual constructions, and programmatic declarations concerning the future of music. Perhaps the engaging, enigmatic, spellbinding nature of this music proceeds from Messiaen's unique source of inspiration: birdsong. Non-human, the source of Messiaen's music is nevertheless not alien since Messiaen celebrates the sounds of nature, which he, as a devout Catholic, experiences as a divine creation. It's difficult to imagine a better interpreter of Messiaen's powerful visions than pianist Anatol Ugorski, who plunges himself into Messiaen's spiritual universe with the passionate abandon of a devoted seeker.

Anatol Ugorski — "Anatol Ugorski - The Complete Recordings On Deutsche Grammophon" - Technical perfection, musical intelligence and courage are the hallmarks of Anatol Ugorski’s personality. Since his meteoric rise to fame in the 90’s, Ugorski’s interpretations, informed by his personal beliefs have stimulated discussion around the performer’s relationship with the score. Now his complete recordings on Deutsche Grammophon are presented together for the first time, including the first international release of his Scriabin Sonatas 2, 3, 5 & 9 as well as rare Chopin recordings.

The Enchanted Lake and Kikimora are wonderfully atmospheric, and the performances by Vassily Sinaisky and the BBC Philharmonic are pure magic The performances are matched by recording of equal richness and luminosity.

After World War II had come to an end, Vieru first studied at the Bucharest School of Music. He first drew attention in the West in 1962 by winning the Prix International Reine Marie-José in Geneva with his First Cello Concerto. In 1973 he witnessed the birth of his Simfonia II, whose the opening movement, 'Tachycardie' (heart palpitations), finds acrid rhythms colliding with luminous sheets of sound '… it belongs, it doesn't belong …'The constructive principle behind Vieru’s music, according to Thomas Beimel, is based on tiny modes with which he allegorically depicts the social processes of inclusion and exclusion along the lines of set theory: it belongs, it doesn't belong, it has features in common. This allegory reflects Vieru's own threatened existence – his 'Jewish identity', of course, but also his later identity as a Rumanian artist subject to the strict surveillance and control of the régime.