Works For Cello And Piano

Mao Fujita follows up his 'acclaimed' debut album on Sony Classical, the complete Mozart Piano Sonatas, with a similarly ambitious recording project, 'Preludes'; three complete sets of 24 preludes by Chopin, Scriabin, and 20th century Japanese composer Akio Yashiro. This album represents a fascinating exploration of three different but intricately connected worlds, each full of poetic diversity, volcanic energy and atmospheric stillness. Each of these three sets are in perfect symmetry with each other, each containing 24 short preludes, one for each major and minor key. But it is Chopin's preludes that form the axis around which these other two sets of preludes orbit. Chopin's Preludes, Op. 28 (1839) broke all expectations of the term 'prelude', elevating the form from small, often-improvised, introductory pieces to singular works in their own right, and in this Op. 28 set, presented as a spinning constellation of self-contained ideas and emotions, and some of the most enduring and loved piano pieces in the repertoire. Scriabin's Preludes, Op. 11 (1888-96) echo Chopin's set in so many ways - the number of preludes, the ordering of the keys, the concept of the prelude as a short, but significant work - but is certainly no copy, rather more a descendant, an extension, hyper expressive, each prelude an intricate miniature world of it's own. The third set of preludes is perhaps the most intriguing. A world premier recording of the 24 Preludes (1945) by Japanese composer Akio Yashiro. Taking Chopin's model even further, Yashiro creates a highly idiomatic and original work, written when only 15 years old. This is the most personal work on the album for Mao Fujita, with a relationship to the composer's widow, and presenting the work for the first time as a commercial studio recording. Or as Mao puts it, "the Chopin and the Scriabin are the fish and the rice, the base, but the Yashiro is the wasabi, just as vital, and that special kick to create something delicious."

CHOPIN: Piano Concerto No. 2 / Krakowiak

Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1, Fantasia on Polish Airs & Anda

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Piano Recital: Gimpel, Jakob - Chopin, F. / Liszt, F. / Debu

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A luxury LP transfer of a superb new Chopin recording, on revolutionary new biovinyl: high-fidelity analogue sound with an environmental conscience. Piano Classics has a fast-growing library of LP releases which are pressed at the leading LP manufacturer in Europe, Optimal Media in Hamburg. Whereas vinyl records have relied upon the petroleum industry until now for their raw materials, the new Biovinyl records are made from bio-based PVC (polyvinyl chloride) which derives from recycled cooking oil or industrial waste gases. CO2 emissions are thus also significantly reduced in the manufacture of Biovinyl records. The records themselves are identical in quality and weight to standard audiophile, petroleum-based vinyl records. Piano Classics has won a longstanding reputation for the warmth and clarity of it's recordings which transfers well to the analogue LP format even when the original source is digital, as it is here. Vincenzo Maltempo's new recording of the Nocturnes will attract the attention of pianophiles old and new, whether listening on CD or LP. Close study of the Chopin performing tradition has resulted in a freedom rather than constriction to his playing, and the recording captures all the lower-bass resonance of his piano, which is essential for bestowing the kind of stillness and gently vibrating atmosphere that Chopin writes into his Nocturnes. The gatefold sleeve of this 2LP issue includes detailed booklet notes by the Chopin scholar Ates Orga, plus an illuminating introduction from Maltempo himself. With the special intimacy that analogue LPs afford, this set allows the listener to get closer than ever to the heart of Chopin's Nocturnes. - The LP version of a new recording of Chopin's Complete Nocturnes by Vincenzo Maltempo. - Any new recording of the complete Nocturnes by Frederic Chopin rouses the interest: in the field of countless existing recordings, does the pianist have something new to say? Inspired by but not imitating the great masters of the Golden Piano Age, Vincenzo Maltempo presents the Nocturnes as dramatic tone poems with a strong narrative, based on the art of rhetoric and Belcanto. As a means to the expression of his ideas, he found an 1888 Steinway grand with an exceptionally wide dynamic range and singing tone. The result is an enervating and moving journey through these eternal masterpieces! - Italian pianist Vincenzo Maltempo, one of the most interesting pianists of the young generation, made his name in his staggering recordings of unjustly forgotten romantic repertoire: Transcendental Studies by Lyapunov (Piano Classics, PCL0124) received 5 stars in several classical magazines (a. o. The French Diapason). His recording of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies received rave reviews, a Gramophone Editor's Choice: "extraordinary breadth and nobility... little short of perfection... ", "9/9, close to ideal" (Jed Distler Classicstoday. Com). His recordings of Alkan have "confirmed his place in the restricted circle of Alkan's best performers, 5 stars" (Diapason), "Exhilarating, thrillingly demonic, 5 Stars" (Andrew Clement in The Guardian).

Chopin's beloved waltzes present a creative challenge for pianists, on the one hand presenting the option to stay on the surface where the light glimmers bathed in the beautiful melodies that Chopin wrote, or to delve into the still accessible sophistication and exquisite piano-isms that bubble underneath the surfaces of these waltzes written throughout Chopin's brief life. The Italian pianist Alessandro Deljavan's artistry and eloquence lead him to the deeper depths of Chopin in these compelling performances that add to his already wide ranging and still young discography.

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This is not an historical recording. Yet mysteriously the music is performed in an interpretation which is historically authentic down to the last detail. The key to this mystery is: The original performer was present at the recent recording session, but not physically: The music is heard on a modern Steinway. Never has music stored in the Welte-Mignon system sounded so "right" or so good - so unadulterated that it need not fear comparison with a living pianist! (See detailed text in the enclosed booklet. Can you tell the difference: dead or alive?)

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