Rameau

Wanda Aleksandra Landowska (5 July 1879 – 16 August 1959) was a Polish harpsichordist and pianist whose performances, teaching, writings and especially her many recordings played a large role in reviving the popularity of the harpsichord in the early 20th century. She was the first person to record Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations on the harpsichord in 1933. She became a naturalized French citizen in 1938.

Rameau's music has yet to be discovered, several of his operas are still unpublished," says Bruno Procopio. Our initiative is to bring these works to light thanks to the Jeune Orchestre Rameau (Jor). Its mission is also to become a professional integration orchestra, by organizing concerts and tours in addition to the week of the Academy, also to promote the creation of new works, professional training, to offer a platform international network and to make recordings via the Paraty record label, distributed by Pias Harmonia Mundi.

Christophe Rousset - Marchand, Rameau (2012) {Ambronay}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 424 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 139 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 129 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2012 Ambronay / Harmonia Mundi | AMY032
Classical / Baroque / Harpsichord / Keyboard

This recording by fine French harpsichordist Christophe Rousset exposes some music from beyond the famous names of the French Baroque. The central attraction is a pair of suites and three characteristic pieces by Louis Marchand, an organist at Versailles who is famous in musical history for having supposedly ducked an organ duel with J.S. Bach. His two suites recorded here were composed in 1702 and 1706, and thus are almost contemporary with the early Rameau Suite in A minor (1706), from his first book of keyboard suites. All the suites consist of a rhythmically free, quasi-improvised prelude followed by a series of stylized dances; three short character pieces by Marchand are also included as a sort of entr'acte.

Rameau on the piano? It's not altogether unheard of – there were a handful of classic recordings made by Robert Casadesus back in 1952 – but, despite many recordings of Bach, Handel, and Scarlatti on the piano in the digital age, there's been precious little Rameau on the piano until this Angela Hewitt recording of three complete suites from 2006. By choosing the Suite in E minor from the Pièces de clavecin of 1731 plus the Suites in G minor and A minor from Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin, Hewitt has for the most part stayed away from the more evocatively titled works and stuck to the standard stylized Baroque dance forms of the allemande, courante, and gigue. Justly celebrated for her cool and clean Bach recordings, this strategy works well for Hewitt. Without seeming to resort to the sustain or the mute pedal, she floats Rameau's lines and melodies, and without seeming to exaggerate the accents or dynamics, she gives Rameau's rhythms a wonderful sense of lift. In the deliberately evocative movements from the G minor Suite – "La poule," "Les sauvages," and especially "L'egiptienne" – Hewitt seems to bring less to the music – her interpretations are remarkably straight – and to get less out of it – her performances are remarkably bland.

For his first album as an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist, 2021 International Chopin Competition winner Bruce Liu – “a pianist with a captivating musical personality” (Financial Times) – has compiled an enthralling survey of 200 years of French keyboard music, from Baroque to modern. The phenomenal young Canadian pianist has subtly adjusted the action of his instrument to highlight the differing musical styles. Gramophone’s reviewer acclaimed DG’s release of Liu’s Warsaw competition performances as “one of the most distinguished Chopin recitals of recent years, full of maturity, character and purpose”. The album’s title Waves alludes not only to the nature theme that runs throughout the programme, but also to the sheer spontaneity of Liu’s music-making.