Friedrich Kalkbrenner : 25 grandes études

Description

A groundbreaking collection of studies, penned by one of the greatest keyboard virtuosos of the 19th century. In the early 1830s, the renowned Friedrich Wilhelm Michael Kalkbrenner was at the height of his powers. It was during this time that Chopin settled in Paris and considered Kalkbrenner the finest pianist he had ever heard: "Herz, Liszt and Hiller are nothing compared to Kalkbrenner." The Études op. 143 reveal an extraordinarily mature and creative facet of Kalkbrenner's compositional talent, despite relative indifference. Conceived at the same time as Chopin's 12 Études op. 10, they share important similarities. These 25 character pieces, as concise musically as they are technically accomplished, offer a rich variety of timbres and sonorities, thus constituting one of the most interesting and contrasting collections of studies in the piano repertoire. Alongside virtuosic demonstrations of Kalkbrenner's astonishing technique, such as the ascending and descending broken octaves of No. 1 and the evocation of a storm at sea in No. 5, one finds several other more subtle musical tableaux. No. 6 possesses the warmest and most intimate melody in the collection, clearly influenced by lyrical writing. No. 13 offers an enchanting and magical texture, made of rapid, undulating notes accompanying a melodic line written as if for a lyrical cello. Such a variety of ideas makes the collection as richly satisfying to listen to as it is demanding to play, culminating in a tarantella freely inspired by a theme from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. Born in 1994, British pianist Tyler Hay has specialized in this prodigiously demanding yet little-known Romantic repertoire, and he contributes the illuminating liner notes for this new recording. His previous albums on Piano Classics have been widely praised by critics.