Ruines Amesoeurs

Franz Liszt - Liszt at the Theatre - Leslie Howard (1992) {Hyperion CDA66575}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 229 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 182 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 18 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1992 Hyperion Records | CDA66575
Classical / Solo Piano

Whilst Liszt’s piano music derived from music for plays is a much smaller body of work than his catalogue of operatic pieces, the approach in his methods of composition, elaboration and transcription remains broadly the same. As far as present Liszt scholarship permits one ever to be categorical, this recording contains all of Liszt’s works in this genre.

The second volume of the Complete Harpsichord Works includes the unpublished harpsichord works of Jacques Champion de Chambonnières from manuscript sources. Performed by Karen Flint on the 1635 and 1627 Ioannes Ruckers harpsichords.

Jacques Ibert’s piano music isn’t exactly the most exciting part of his output, amounting to a series of short picturesque pieces written in a bland neo-classical vein, with just a hint of impressionism or humor here and there to liven up the expression. Lack of both imagination and strong features have kept these pieces away from the current concert repertoire, but on CD they make nice if quickly forgotten listening. The collection of Histoires, including the famous Le petit âne blanc (The Little White Donkey), comes off the best, along with Les rencontres, a little suite in the form of a ballet that displays some lively melodic figures underlined by slightly spicy harmonies, as in the softly swinging The Creoles. The other pieces do little else than round off the total timing of the CD. Hae-won Chang plays with charm and delicacy, with a clean and neat technique that is just what these unpretentious pieces require. The recording is well balanced and truthful.

This is Annie Barbazza’s first solo album. She was a young drummer in love with progressive rock when Greg Lake discovered her talent as a singer and wanted her on stage with him for the concert which would later become the posthumous “Live in Piacenza”. Again Lake produced “Moonchild”, the duo with pianist Max Repetti for Manticore Records where she sang many songs formerly sang by Lake with ELP and King Crimson. If these were the beginnings of Annie’s career, now she is a rising star of the international Avant / Prog scene. Her friendship with John Greaves (Henry Cow, National Health …) leads her to collaborate permanently live with the Welsh musician and to collaborate on his latest albums (“Piacenza” for Dark Companion and “Life Size” for Manticore). Another one of her stable collaborations is the one with legendary writer-singer-songwriter Paul Roland with whom Annie regularly performs live as a bassist and singer and in the studio also as a drummer.