Antoinette Dans Les Cevennes

Considered as one of the most inspired pianists of his generation, Severin von Eckardstein explores three major cycles of French music from the 1900s, associating Claude Debussy’s two revolutionary books Images (1904-1907) and Gabriel Dupont’s La Maison dans les dunes (1907-1909) as part of this debut album under the Artalinna label: this suite of 10 pieces with memorable atmospheres filled with luminous colours and heady melodies will stand out for many as a musical revelation!

Though Gabriel Dupont was known largely for his operatic works, he was also acclaimed for his piano suites. Les heures dolentes was composed during Dupont’s convalescence from his first bout of tuberculosis — the disease that would ultimately bring about his untimely death at the age of 36. La maison dans les dunes was composed at Cap Ferret, a small island refuge for tuberculosis patients. Dupont was in much better health than he had been while writing Les heures dolentes, and this second piano suite sculpts a new musical landscape that is rich and vibrant.

Ryszard Legutko a vécu une partie de son existence dans la Pologne communiste. Professeur de philosophie et éditeur d’une revue clandestine, il a expérimenté le fonctionnement d’un régime totalitaire dans ses aspects les plus concrets. Après la chute du mur et le retour de la liberté, il fut stupéfait de voir les ex-communistes s’adapter bien mieux que les anciens dissidents à la démocratie libérale et aux affaires. Il voulut comprendre les raisons de cette étonnante compatibilité. …