French Piano Rarities / Raat

$13.99
Label
Naxos
Release Date
May 22, 2020
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      VARIOUS
    • PERFORMER
      Ralph Van Raat
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      May 22, 2020
    • UPC
      747313389476
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      8573894
    • LABEL
      Naxos
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Classical
    Works ⌄

    1. Étude retrouvée

      Composer: Claude Debussy

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    2. Les soirs illuminés par l'ardeur du charbon (Evenings Lit by the Burning Coals)

      Composer: Claude Debussy

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    3. Morceau de lecture à vue (Sight Reading Exercise)

      Composer: Olivier Messiaen

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    4. IV. Le Cossyphe d'Heuglin (The White-Browed Robin-Chat)

      Composer: Olivier Messiaen

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    5. IX. Le Moqueur polyglotte (The Mockingbird)

      Composer: Olivier Messiaen

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    6. La Fauvette Passerinette (The Subalpine Warbler)

      Composer: Olivier Messiaen

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    7. Prelude

      Composer: Pierre Boulez

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    8. Toccata

      Composer: Pierre Boulez

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    9. Scherzo

      Composer: Pierre Boulez

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    10. No. 1. Fantasque - Modéré

      Composer: Pierre Boulez

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    11. No. 2. Très vif

      Composer: Pierre Boulez

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    12. No. 3. Assez lent

      Composer: Pierre Boulez

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    13. No. 4. Rythmique

      Composer: Pierre Boulez

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    14. No. 5. Doux et improvisé

      Composer: Pierre Boulez

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    15. No. 6. Rapide

      Composer: Pierre Boulez

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    16. No. 7. Hiératique

      Composer: Pierre Boulez

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    17. No. 8. Modéré jusqu'à très vif

      Composer: Pierre Boulez

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    18. No. 9. Lointain - Calme

      Composer: Pierre Boulez

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    19. No. 10. Mécanique et très sec

      Composer: Pierre Boulez

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    20. No. 11. Scintillant: Faire ressortir le chant en sauts disjoints

      Composer: Pierre Boulez

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    21. No. 12. Lent - Puissant et âpre

      Composer: Pierre Boulez

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    22. Une page d'éphéméride (A Calendar Page)

      Composer: Pierre Boulez

      Performer: Ralph van Raat

    23. Menuet in C-Sharp Minor

      Composer: Maurice Ravel

      Performer: Ralph van Raat


This album of French piano rarities features seldom-heard and recently discovered works by composers who had an influence on Pierre Boulez, as well as the premiere recording of Boulez’s Prélude, Toccata et Scherzo. This large-scale early work looks back on virtuosic Romantic music, while at the same time exploring the new compositional styles that Boulez would subsequently embrace.

Among the rarities is a posthumously discovered piano study by Debussy, a reconstructed birdsong work by Messiaen, and a tiny masterpiece by Ravel found in a notebook.

Ralph van Raat has been fascinated by classical music of the 20th century since the age of 14. Although his repertoire ranges from Bach to Boulez, his primary focus has always been on composers dating from Debussy, Bartók and Ives to present-day masters. Van Raat helps audiences identify with modern day composers by adhering to a classical approach: he firmly believes that a strong sense of classical structure as well as a refinement of tone is essential in conveying the logic and poetry of any music. This has not gone unrecognized: he is the recipient of a substantial number of national and international awards, many composers have written solo works for him, and he has performed over 50 piano concertos with orchestras worldwide.

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REVIEW:

In addition to other solo piano writing from Boulez, van Raat’s new album shows his lustrous way of playing lesser-heard gems by Debussy, Ravel and Messiaen. Given this repertoire, the album’s title, “French Piano Rarities,” makes plenty of sense. Yet it doesn’t do justice to the worldliness that informs this pianist’s process, no matter which tradition he is exploring.

– New York Times (Seth Colter Walls)