Pascal Gallet

Between 1975 and 1983, Jordi Savall recorded five albums including the most beautiful pieces from each of the five ‘Books of Pieces for the Viol’ composed by Marin Marais between 1686 and 1725. A silence of nearly 250 years came to an end. A repertoire - and even better, an instrument - returned from oblivion.

Henri Dutilleux's "Ainsi la nuit" (1976) is a modern classic, and it's easy to see why. This is a work that parodoxically combines impressionist lushness and total transparency, surface attractiveness and deep mystery. Ravel meets Bartok? The work is in seven movements, which each have their own particular concern, though there are "parenthetical" moments that interlink the entire piece. "Nocturne 1" is a mysterious static soundscape periodically fractured by outbursts………

Christopher Culver @ amazon.com

The award-winning French pianist Pascal Rogé presents a programme of music by Gershwin and Ravel in a recording with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra under Bertrand de Billy. Rogés affinity for the French style and empathy with jazz make him particularly suited to this repertoire. His recordings of French piano music have received Gramophone, Grand Prix du Disque and Edison awards. In addition to the classical-romantic repertoire of the Viennese and German schools, 20th-century French music is also one of his specialities.