Ravel : Masks & Mirrors

Description

Two decades of Ravel, a refined selection by pianist Juho Pohjonen! This new recording by Finnish pianist Juho Pohjonen traces Ravel’s journey over more than two decades, from the “Menuet antique” of his youth to the reflections on war expressed in “Le Tombeau de Couperin,” revealing a composer whose voice remained unmistakably his own throughout his evolution. Pohjonen explores Ravel’s fascination with history, literature, and illusion, as ancient dances are transformed through a modern harmonic language, fountains come to life in Jeux d'eau, and Gaspard de la nuit pushes the piano to its expressive and technical limits in three captivating musical visions inspired by Aloysius Bertrand. Recorded on a Bösendorfer concert grand piano at the Liszt-Zentrum in Raiding, this album is Pohjonen’s second solo recording for Orchid Classics, following Visionaries of the Keyboard, and presents a portrait of Ravel that goes beyond the impressionistic surface to reveal a composer of structural clarity, wit, and emotional restraint.