Perianes

As if in a mirror, this recording juxtaposes the original piano versions of two of Ravel's masterpieces ('Le Tombeau de Couperin' and 'Alborada del gracioso') with their respective orchestrations. The 'Concerto in G Major' combines the two facets, both when the piano is integrated into the overall sound and when it plays its role as a soloist. The subtle playing of Javier Perianes and the refined sonorities of the Orchestre de Paris, conducted by Josep Pons, also remind us that Spain was the most significant source of inspiration in Ravel's output.

Chopin and Debussy were two seekers of the absolute who, in their art distilled to the quintessence, succeeded in erasing all traces of their workmanship and their supreme compositional technique. The connections between them are as numerous as they are subtle, never obvious, yet so very profound. The achievement of Javier Perianes here is to have teased out the artistic thread linking two geniuses who soar high above their respective centuries.

During his all-too-brief life, the Andalusian composer Manuel Blasco de Nebra (1750-1784) left behind a handful of keyboard works that evoke Scarlatti's concise forms and extraordinary powers of invention. Each of the sonatas consists of two movements: an adagio followed by a fast finale. The adagios are stark and full of gut-wrenching, slowly resolving dissonant moments, while unpredictable twists and turns characterize the almost Haydn-esque Allegros and Prestos, as well as the E minor Pastorela Minuet's discursive melodic trajectory. At times Blasco de Nebra foreshadows future soulmates; you might mistake the Op. 1 C minor sonata finale's persistent dotted rhythms for Schumann's. Javier Perianes understands what makes de Nebra tick, borne out by his varied articulations, wide dynamic spectrum, and shapely embellishments.

This colorful and wide-ranging program brings together two virtuoso soloists, violist Tabea Zimmerman and pianist Javier Perianes, for an exploration of repertoire from Spain to South America featuring works by the greatest composers the countries of these regions have produced. Spanish folk songs arranged by Falla are paired here with compositions by Casals, Granados, Montsalvatge, Piazzolla and the beloved aria from the fifth Bachiana brasileira by Brazil's Villa-Lobos.

Francisco Goya's paintings have left a powerful imprint on the European imagination. It was undoubtedly Granados who best translated into music, with nobility and humour, this colourful universe where majos and majas dance to love and death in the twilight glow of a dying Ancien Régime.

Josep Pons and Javier Perianes collaborate once again on a new album dedicated to Maurice Ravel entitled Jeux de Miroirs. The recording, released by harmonia mundi internationally on 29 November, features Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin and Alborada del gracioso for solo piano, their respective orchestrations and Piano Concerto in G major with Orchestre de Paris. These musical ​‘mirror effects’ allow us to compare the original piano versions of two key works by Ravel with the orchestrations he made of them. Alongside these, the Concerto in G major offers an example of how the composer combines piano and orchestra, both when the piano is integrated into the overall sound and when it plays its traditional solo role.