Derviches

The eight world premiere recordings included in this programme are played from a treasure trove of unpublished manuscripts obtained by Geoffrey Burleson from the Bibliotheque nationale de France, each of them filled with strong and imaginative ideas. Further virtuosic rarities by Saint-Saens include a solo transcription of his exotic Africa for piano and orchestra, and fantasies on works by Beethoven, Gounod, Liszt, Bizet, and others. Geoffrey Burleson has an active career as a performing artist, and has performed in such prestigious venues as the Eglise St-Merri, Paris; the American Academy in Rome; the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki; the Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall, Athens; the National Museum of Art, Mexico City and De Doelen, Rotterdamas as well as with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Arlington and New England Philharmonics, and the Holland Symfonia. He is on the piano faculty of Princeton University and the City University of New York Graduate Center, and is professor of music and director of piano studies at Hunter College, CUNY.

Djalâl-od-Dîn Rumî (1207-1273), fondateur de la célèbre confrérie soufie, connue en Occident sous le nom de derviches tourneurs, est à la fois un grand maître spirituel - désigné dans tout l'Orient comme "Mawlânâ", le maître par excellence - un poète, un philosophe, et aussi un voyant : ne parle-t-il pas - au Moyen Age ! - des dangers de la fission nucléaire et de la pluralité des mondes ? Il est l'auteur de plusieurs ouvrages …

Bien qu'elle aille plutôt bien, Maggie Fortenberry a trouvé seize bonne raisons de se suicider. Maintenant que la date est fixée, cette ancienne Miss Alabama se consacre méticuleusement à régler les derniers détails, tenant à jour la liste des choses qu'il lui reste à faire avant de disparaître. Obligée de retarder son projet, elle découvre que la vie lui réserve encore de nombreuses surprises. …

The range and variety of French piano music in the 19th and 20th centuries is exemplifi ed in these critically acclaimed albums bringing together rarely encountered pieces, a number of which are performed on period instruments. Théodore Gouvy’s little-known sonatas and Benjamin Godard’s fragrant lyricism are part of a lineage that includes the masterful large-scale Piano Sonata of Vincent d’Indy, the virtuosic rarities – many in première recordings – of Saint-Saëns, Satie’s tenderness and wit, and unknown piano versions of some of Debussy’s greatest orchestral masterpieces.

The range and variety of French piano music in the 19th and 20th centuries is exemplifi ed in these critically acclaimed albums bringing together rarely encountered pieces, a number of which are performed on period instruments. Théodore Gouvy’s little-known sonatas and Benjamin Godard’s fragrant lyricism are part of a lineage that includes the masterful large-scale Piano Sonata of Vincent d’Indy, the virtuosic rarities – many in première recordings – of Saint-Saëns, Satie’s tenderness and wit, and unknown piano versions of some of Debussy’s greatest orchestral masterpieces.

Djalâl-ud-Dîn Rûmî, fondateur dans l'Anatolie du XIIIe siècle de la confrérie des derviches tourneurs, auteur du Mesnevi et des Rubâi'yât (Albin Michel), est considéré comme l'un des plus grands poètes et mystiques soufis. …