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.

The desire to promote the heritage of Spanish traditional music lies at the heart of the compositions of Manuel de Falla and Federico García Lorca. To achieve their aims, both men relied heavily on the great flamenco artists of their day, imbuing their work with the authenticity of an age-old popular tradition. Flamenco singer Estrella Morente and pianist Javier Perianes recreate that thrilling combination of tradition and passion in these authentic performances of Spanish canciones.

A visionary composer, Domenico Scarlatti pushed back the frontiers of keyboard writing, fusing radiant melodies with spirited rhythms and daring technical feats. In this compendium of his most attractive sonatas, Javier Perianes employs his consummate virtuosity with audible enjoyment, revealing all the richness and inventiveness of his adoptive compatriot’s musical language.

Catalan composer Federico Mompou wrote four volumes of brief, aphoristic piano pieces called Música callada, or Music of silence, between 1959 and 1967. He seemed to inhabit a musical world of his own, indifferent or hostile to many of the conventions of western music, particularly Germanic music, which he described as "phonorrhea," with an excess of padding, ponderous development, and numbing redundancies. His aesthetic is similar in some ways to Satie's, and their works have some similarities, particularly the use of a simple, but unconventional tonal language that is not shy of dissonance. Mompou's music is notable for the simplicity and clarity of its content and its expression – there are no wasted or unnecessary notes. Spanish pianist Javier Perianes plays with an unmannered delicacy and a self-effacing directness that honor the ephemeral character of these pieces and allows their poetry to blossom. The sound is absolutely clear and captures the intimacy of the music.