Maurice Ravel Piano Works Andre Laplante

The two composers, who represent their country as figureheads of color and sound, have almost identical dates in their lives: The Pole Karol Szymanowski and the Frenchman Maurice Ravel. The Swiss pianist Matthias Roth has put together an exquisite program for his GENUIN debut CD, which he has recorded with a crystal-clear sound and lively articulation that is unrivaled in terms of quality. You don't know what to admire more: The great works of Ravel that one knows well but experiences anew, or the unexplored beauty of Szymanowski's works, which are worth the exciting voyage of discovery in every moment!

Yuja Wang has established herself as an international sensation. She plays with the world’s leading orchestras—including those of New York, London, Amsterdam, and Berlin - regularly joining them on tours of the Americas, Europe, and Asia. On her eagerly expected new orchestral album she wows with two perennial hits: Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major and The Piano Concerto for the Left Hand in D major. Both are heavily influenced by jazz, which Ravel had encountered on a concert tour of the United States in 1928. He composed both concertos between 1929 and 1930.

Every orchestra has a characteristic sound & personality that identifies them through the ages, & in the case of the Boston Symphony Orchestra it is their contoured string & wind elegance, panache & suavity that marks them out as the premier Francophone American orchestra. With Seiji Ozawa at the helm, a conductor much identified with French repertoire, these Quad recordings of Maurice Ravel, accomplished during his long tenure as music director, are afforded the sonic treatment they deserve & are now able to receive given the latest SACD technology employed by Pentatone enabling the release of the full spectrum of sound captured by a previous eras sound engineers.

Piano recordings do not come much more exhilarating (or entertaining) than Marc-André Hamelin’s survey of some of his own recent works. Listening to one of the most formidably complex musical minds of today is a rare and rewarding privilege: prepare to be astonished.

Selim Palmgren’s piano miniatures were extremely popular during his lifetime and were played by the great virtuosos of the day. The sixth volume in this acclaimed series presents a panorama of Palmgren’s works and includes two of his greatest and most important solo pieces – the suite Ungdom, Op. 28 laced with Impressionist and Finnish folk elements, and the Three Piano Pieces, Op. 54 which includes Raindrops and Moonlight, two of his best-known and most atmospheric works. Also included are Lisztian virtuoso studies, Hungarian evocations, and a beautiful, moving Prélude funèbre that was played at Palmgren’s own funeral. Jouni Somero, Palmgren’s greatest modern exponent, continues his historic survey of piano music by one of Finland’s most respected and admired composers.

Niccolò Castiglioni was one of the most singular figures on the Italian music scene of the latter half of the 20th century. Including world première recordings, this first volume of this complete edition reveals the exceptional quality of Castiglioni’s early piano works, the cantabile solemnity found in his exploration of twelve-tone techniques, and the quest for simplicity in later pieces that include the Seconda Sonatina discovered among the composer’s papers after his death. The acclaimed pianist Aldo Orvieto has recorded and performed extensively throughout his career and is a specialist in Italian 20th-century repertoire.

Not only was Manuel Ponce the leading figure in the emergence of Mexican nationalism but his music embodies a wide variety of influences. Nowhere is this more evident than in his writing for solo piano, and this album, the third of eight volumes, explores three specific facets. The first is his youthful concert studies, which are virtuosic, atmospheric and memorably evocative.