Hardy

The conclusion and crowning culmination of an epochal project: Vol. 5 rounds off Hardy Rittner’s acclaimed Brahms complete recording on historical pianos. The careful selection of lavishly and lovingly restored concert grand pianos perfectly suited to this task enhances the value of this pioneering edition even more. The present release comes with a double high point: Rittner performs the variation cycles, works of the highest virtuosity producing an extraordinary audience impact, on a Steinway & Sons concert grand piano, serial number 553, manufactured around 1860.

Françoise Hardy is a pop and fashion icon celebrated as a French national treasure. With her signature breathy alto, she was one of the earliest and most definitive French participants in the yé-yé movement (a style of pop music that initially emerged from Italy, Switzerland, Spain, and Portugal before spreading to France in the early 1960s). She is one of only a few female vocalists who could or would write and perform her own material.

Tous les garçons et les filles is the debut studio album by French singer-songwriter Françoise Hardy, released in November 1962 on Disques Vogue. Like many of her following records, it was originally released without a title and to be referred to, later on, by the name of its most popular song. Released when Hardy was 18 years old, the album was a commercial success and "went on to top charts". It was originally released in the United States under the title The "Yeh-Yeh" Girl From Paris! in 1965 on "proto-world music label" Four Corners.

L'amitié is the fifth studio album by French singer-songwriter Françoise Hardy, released in November 1965 on Disques Vogue. Like many of her previous records, it was originally released without a title and came to be referred to, later on, by the name of its most popular song. The album includes several French adaptations of English-language songs, along with Hardy's own compositions.

Françoise Hardy is a pop and fashion icon celebrated as a French national treasure. With her signature breathy alto, she was one of the earliest and most definitive French participants in the yé-yé movement (a style of pop music that initially emerged from Italy, Switzerland, Spain, and Portugal before spreading to France in the early 1960s). She is one of only a few female vocalists who could or would write and perform her own material. She offered a startling contrast to the boy's club of French pop in the early '60s, paving the way for literally thousands of women all over the globe.

Throughout her career, most of Françoise Hardy's arrangements have tended toward the lush, though in a good way. La Question is lush too, but it's one of her most sparsely produced efforts, usually finding her voice accompanied by little more than an acoustic guitar, touches of bass, and very subtle orchestration.