Emmanuel Despax Spira, Spera (2021) [official Digital Download 24 96]

Emmanuel Despax returns to Signum with a disc of JS Bach transcriptions. The title quotes Victor Hugo’s ‘The Hunchback of Notre-Dame’ (“Breathe, Hope”), brought to Despax’s mind following the news of the fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral, where he had attended many concerts of Bach’s music as a child. Despax describes Bach’s music as being “of such clarity, coherence and expressive power, that it is able to transcend its original medium, and to some extent, style.

New concerto recording from acclaimed French pianist. Following the acclaimed Bach recording 'Spira, Spera' in early 2021, Emmanuel Despax releases a recording of his most treasured piano concerto alongside the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Andrew Litton. The concerto is paired with the 16 Waltzes (op.39) for piano four-hands, performed here with his wife and fellow pianist, Miho Kawashima.