Laurent Sallen

Visions offers Tamara Stefanovich and Pierre-Laurent Aimard’s return to Pentatone, presenting a programme revolving around Messiaen’s intoxicating Visions de l‘amen for two pianos. This centrepiece is surrounded by Enescu’s Carillon nocturne, Knussen’s Prayer Bell Sketch and Clock IV from Birtwistle’s Harrison’s Clocks. The works performed all share a fascination for the sound of bells, and Stefanovich and Aimard invite the listener on a mesmerizing acoustic journey.

'It would be difficult to find a simpler and more poignant subject', Massenet remarked during the composition of Ariane, a vast score in five acts premiered at the Paris Opera in October 1906. The libretto by Catulle Mendes is part ancient drama, part symbolist poem, and sets Phaedra and Ariadne, two sisters in love with Theseus, in violent conflict with each other. This epic work does not shrink from relating the combat against the Minotaur, from showing a ship tossed by the raging billows, nor even from transporting the audience to the Underworld where Persephone reigns. Despite its flamboyant orchestration, its grandiose scenography and its triumphant premiere, Ariane remains one of the few Massenet operas never recorded until now. The young Egyptian soprano Amina Edris takes the title role with ardour and passion, surrounded by a cast well versed in the specificities of the French style. The Bavarian Radio Chorus provides dedicated support in the epic scenes, under the baton of Laurent Campellone, a great champion of Massenet.

Go ahead, play rough and tough with Beethoven. He can take it: he's made of marble and stone and it'd take more than a couple hardcore eccentrics to ruin his reputation. This is not to say that gard-core eccentrics Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Nikolaus Harnoncourt don't give it their best shot. Like their earlier recording of the complete Piano Concertos of Beethoven, Aimard and Harnoncourt do what they like with his Triple Concerto, Rondo in B flat major, and Choral Fantasy to consistently terrible results. With violinist Thomas Zehetmair and cellist Clemens Hagen, Aimard and Harnoncourt turn in an ungainly and graceless recording of the graceful and gracious Triple Concerto.

Les Barbares was premièred at the Paris Opéra (Palais Garnier) in October 1901, having originally been intended for the Roman theatre of Orange, in Provence. Rather than concentrating on bloodshed and slaughter, the plot focuses on the evolution of the relationship between Floria, the chief vestal, and Marcomir, the leader of the Barbarians, with the musical interest of the opera culminating furthermore in their splendid duet at the end of Act II. Saint-Saëns, like Massenet too at that time, shows here his ability to adapt his style to suit his literary inspiration. Les Barbares is in the same vein as Berliozs Les Troyens and contemporary with Faurés Pénélope.

Released between 1991 and 2005, the selections in The Warner Recordings encapsulate the period when Pierre-Laurent Aimard was signed to Erato and Teldec, performing mostly 20th-century fare and some music from the 19th century. Aimard is famous for his contributions to the modernist catalog, and his performances of works by Pierre Boulez, Elliott Carter, György Ligeti, and Olivier Messiaen are regarded as scrupulously executed and authoritatively interpreted. Aimard also recorded early 20th century pieces by Charles Ives, Alban Berg, Maurice Ravel, and Claude Debussy, as well as Romantic masterpieces of Beethoven and Liszt. A pianist's pianist, Aimard is well-rounded in his repertoire and a true master of keyboard technique, yet he has received considerably less fanfare than many of his flashier colleagues. Yet connoisseurs of piano recordings know that Aimard is indispensible, especially for his special feeling for French music, and his recordings are important documents that serious students and newcomers should appreciate.

Spinnin’ is my fifth album as a leader, the first within the jazz piano trio idiom. For this recording, I called a drummer with whom I played quite a bit during my past years in NY – currently with tenor Joe Lovano – the young Otis Brown III, and the bass player everybody digs (Dianne Reeves, Joshua Redman, Charles Lloyd…), Reuben Rogers. ~ Laurent Coq.