Sacd Debussy

Better known for his works for orchestra or solo piano, Claude Debussy also composed a wealth of beautiful chamber music. This disc featuring the Pražák Quartet and the Kinsky Trio Prague (and invited guests) offers a selection of six works, ranging from the Piano Trio No.1 of 1879, via a fascinating chamber arrangement of the always popular 'Prélude à l'après-midi d'un Faune' to his last work, the Cello Sonata written in 1915. This audiophile quality multi-channel SACD presents these works a unique coupling, not featured on any other disc.

Cellist Steven Isserlis once again displays his ingenuity and innovation in programming on this 2010 release combining four works for cello and orchestra that wouldn't even exist without him: all arrangements were made at his personal request, each one by the arranger of his personal choice. The most radical reworking is the opening selection, based on a suite composed for cello and orchestra by a 19-year-old Debussy, which only survived in a version for cello and piano. In her imaginative reconstruction of, or rather replacement for, Debussy's original composition, Sally Beamish uses the piece as the opening movement, going on to construct orchestral arrangements of four other Debussy works from the same period. Isserlis also includes revisions of two Ravel songs, Prokofiev's incomplete Concertino and Ernest Bloch's From Jewish Life, ending with the movement entitled Prayer. Throughout the fascinating programme, Isserlis is backed by the Tapiola Sinfonietta conducted by Gábor Takács-Nagy.

Better known for his works for orchestra or solo piano, Claude Debussy also composed a wealth of beautiful chamber music. This disc featuring the Pražák Quartet and the Kinsky Trio Prague (and invited guests) offers a selection of six works, ranging from the Piano Trio No.1 of 1879, via a fascinating chamber arrangement of the always popular 'Prélude à l'après-midi d'un Faune' to his last work, the Cello Sonata written in 1915. This audiophile quality multi-channel SACD presents these works a unique coupling, not featured on any other disc.

Valery Afanassiev is a Russian pianist, writer and conductor. He was the winner of the Bach Competition in Leipzig in 1968, as well as 1st prize recipient at the Concours Reine Elisabeth in Brussels in 1971. Afanassiev become widely known in the 1980s due to his musical partnership with Gidon Kremer. Their joint recordings of chamber works by Mozart, Schubert and Brahms were highly praised. His interpretations of solo piano works by Franz Schubert, Ludwig van Beethoven and the others have aroused controversy on account of Afanassiev's tempi choices and idiosyncratic expressiveness. He has recorded among others for such labels as Denon and Deutsche Grammophone. For this Japan only release by Sony Classical, Afanassiev performed the piano music by Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Debussy and Prokofiev.

Complete Piano Works offer listeners more clarity and detail than ever before. The expert engineers at Abbey Road Studios who remastered the original EMI recordings on Hybrid Super Audio CDs have breathed new life into these iconic catalog recordings. Each title in the Signature Collection is beautifully presented in a full-color illustrated hardback book. The liner notes explore mot only the rich music but also the story behind original LP covers. Also included are never before seen photographs of the original master tapes.

After a series of popular and award-winning recordings running over a wide range of the piano repertoire, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet is a well-known name in the piano lover’s world. But back in the 90’s, Bavouzet was just a name on a little known Japanese label specializing in piano music. The Études as presented here by Bavouzet are marvels of musical insight and control. The Children’s Corner is equally compelling. Also on this disc presented other Debussy’s works as Page d'album, Berceuse héroïque, La plus que lente, and Elégie. As with the Etudes, the recorded sound of the piano is miraculously good. The recording was made in 1996 but not released by the Japanese label, Octavia Records, until 2005. This perhaps explains its obscurity relative to Bavouzet’s more recent recordings of the same material.

Miyuji Kaneko was born in 1989 to a Japanese father and a Hungarian mother. At the age of six, he moved to Hungary alone to study under Zsuzsa Cs. Nagy at the Bartok Elementary School of Music. In 2001 at the age of eleven, he was accepted into the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, skipping grades and studying with professors Gabor Eckhardt, Gyongyi Kevehazi, and Rita Wagner. He has won first prizes in many international music competitions, including the 2008 Bartok International Piano Competition.

Valery Afanassiev is a Russian pianist, writer and conductor. He was the winner of the Bach Competition in Leipzig in 1968, as well as 1st prize recipient at the Concours Reine Elisabeth in Brussels in 1971. Afanassiev become widely known in the 1980s due to his musical partnership with Gidon Kremer. Their joint recordings of chamber works by Mozart, Schubert and Brahms were highly praised. His interpretations of solo piano works by Franz Schubert, Ludwig van Beethoven and the others have aroused controversy on account of Afanassiev's tempi choices and idiosyncratic expressiveness. He has recorded among others for such labels as Denon and Deutsche Grammophone. For this Japan only release by Sony Classical, Afanassiev performed the piano music by Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Debussy and Prokofiev.