ENESCU, G.: Piano Works (Complete), Vol. 1 (Solaun)
ENESCU, G.: Piano Works (Complete), Vol. 2 (Solaun)
ENESCU, G.: Piano Works (Complete), Vol. 3 (Solaun)
Composer(s): George Enescu (1881-1955) 乔治·埃内斯库
Artist(s): Josu de Solaun, piano (www.josudesolaun.com) 霍苏·德·索朗
Label: Grand Piano (http://www.naxos.com/labels/grandpiano-cd.htm)
Genre: Instrumental
Period: 20th Century
Catalogue No: GP705 (http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=GP705)
GP706 (http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=GP706)
GP707 (http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=GP707)
Physical Release: 06/2016, 08/2016, 09/2016
Vol. 1:
This first of three discs devoted to George Enescu’s piano music presents three significant pieces. Indebted to Romanian folk music and in three large sections, the ruminative yet striking Nocturne in D flat is a work of shifting sonorities and moods. The Pièces impromptues, Op. 18 are independent, unrelated character pieces that illuminate once again the composer’s fascination with the indigenous music of Romania. The Sonata No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 24, No. 1 is—by contrast—a massive statement characterised by harmonic surprises, innovative techniques, insistent rhythms and, in the final, slow movement, the doina, a type of Romanian song at once contemplative, nostalgic and melancholic.
Vol. 2:
The four works in this second of three volumes devoted to Enescu’s piano music range over a period of more than 30 years. The earliest is the joyful, ebullient Suite ‘Des cloches sonores’, Op. 10 which covers a wide expressive range including use of the melancholy Romanian song, the doina. The Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 24 is a mercurial, puckish work, both spirited and contemplative, and the Pièce sur le nom de Fauré is a charming souvenir from one composer to another.
Vol. 3:
This third and final volume dedicated to Enescu’s piano works shows the unique blend of influences he acquired during his teenage years in Vienna and Paris. These start with his Brahms-like treatment of the piano as a symphonic instrument in the Scherzo and Ballade to the infusion of French late-Romanticism and Fauré in the Impromptus. The crowning achievement of these early compositions is the Suite dans le style ancien, Enescu’s first public solo piano opus, a stylised evocation of Bach seen through the prism of turn-of-the-century Paris.
As first-prize winner of the XIII George Enescu International Piano Competition in Bucharest (previous winners include the legendary pianists Radu Lupu and Elisabeth Leonskaja) and the XV José Iturbi International Piano Competition, the Spanish pianist Josu De Solaun has been invited to perform in distinguished concert series throughout the world, having made notable appearances in Bucharest (Romanian Athenaeum), St Petersburg (Mariinsky Theatre), Washington DC (Kennedy Center), New York (Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Opera), London (Southbank Centre), Paris (Salle Cortot), Mexico City (Sala Silvestre Revueltas), Ravello (Festival di Ravello), Menton (Festival International de Musique), and all major cities of Spain.
He has played as soloist with orchestras such as the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, St Petersburg, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra Filarmonica della Fenice, Venice, the Spanish National Radio and TV Orchestra, the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra of Bucharest, the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra.
He is the only pianist from Spain to win the Enescu and Iturbi competitions respectively, and was invited to a private reception with the King and Queen of Spain at the Royal Palace after winning the coveted Bucharest prize.
Josu De Solaun is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, where his two main teachers and main musical influences have been pianists Nina Svetlanova and Horacio Gutierrez. In Spain, where he studied until the age of seventeen, his main teachers were Ricardo Roca, Ana Guijarro, and especially, Maria Teresa Naranjo.
He now combines his performing career with a teaching position at Sam Houston State University, and lives between New York City and Houston.
For more information, please visit www.josudesolaun.com.
Tracks:
Vol. 1 - Tracklist:
1. Nocturne in D - Flat Major 00:19:07 夜曲
Pièces impromptues, Op. 18, "Suite No. 3" 八首即兴小品"第三钢琴组曲"
2. I. Mélodie 00:03:15
3. II. Voix de la steppe 00:03:20
4. III. Mazurk mélancolique 00:05:28
5. IV. Burlesque 00:05:34
6. V. Appassionato 00:04:51
7. VI. Choral 00:07:16
8. VII. Carillon nocturne 00:06:52
Piano Sonata No. 1 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 24, No. 1 第一降F小调钢琴奏鸣曲
9. I. Allegro molto moderato e grave 00:11:05
10. II. Presto vivace 00:04:40
11. III. Andante molto espressivo 00:07:38
Total Playing Time: 01:19:06
Vol. 2 - Tracklist:
Suite No. 2 in D Major, Op. 10 第二D大调钢琴组曲
1. I. Toccata: Majestueusement, mais pas trop lent 00:04:25
2. II. Sarabande: Noblement 00:08:17
3. III. Pavane: Lentement berce 00:06:26
4. IV. Bourée: Vivement 00:06:04
Piano Sonata No. 3 in D Major, Op. 24, No. 3 第三D大调钢琴奏鸣曲
7. I. Vivace con brio 00:06:11
8. II. Andantino cantabile 00:10:44
9. III. Allegro con spirito 00:08:50
10. Pièce sur le nom de Fauré 00:02:17
Total Playing Time: 01:07:12
Vol. 3 - Tracklist:
1. Scherzo 00:04:00 谐谑曲
2. Ballade for Piano 00:07:49 叙事曲
5. Barcarolle in B - Flat Major 00:04:28 船歌
6. La Fileuse in D Major 00:05:02
7. Regrets in G - Flat Major 00:03:23
Suite No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 3, "Dans le style ancien" 第一G大调钢琴组曲
8. I. Prélude: Grave 00:03:29
9. II. Fugue: Allegro moderato 00:04:02
10. III. Adagio 00:08:23
11. IV. Finale: Presto 00:03:50
12. Impromptu in A - Flat Major 00:04:21 即兴曲
13. Impromptu in C Major 00:06:10 即兴曲
14. Modérément 00:02:22 中速的