The new Solo Musica recording "Promenade" of FrÃ©dÃ©ric Chopin's PrÃ©ludes op. 28 and Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" brings together two prominent piano cycles that are almost emblematic of their creators' oeuvre. In the juxtaposition, pianist Andrea Kauten shows what unites them despite all the expected contrasts, which goes far beyond some obvious references by Mussorgsky to Chopin's PrÃ©ludes. Both large-scale cycles combine miniatures of partly aphoristic character. They stand in the tension between European art music and the national influences of Eastern European and Slavic traditions. For the time being, they seek different solutions. The cosmopolitan Chopin, rejecting any demonstrative patriotism, manages the seamless integration of his Polish idiom into a universally European expression. Mussorgsky, as a self-confessed post-cosmopolitan, emphatically recalled the folk-Russian, which he offensively opposed to everything "Western". Both composers found their way to a personalised musical language which, while freely handling the form, allows the traditional harmonies to be broken up by deliberate instabilities. Both meet on the path to modernity. Even if emotional exhibitionism was alien to both composers and the works can only be related to the biographical snapshots of their genesis with extreme caution: Both cycles are set against the background of a confrontation with death that is as surprising as it is inexorable. With passion, musicality and a high technical standard, Andrea Kauten elicits restrained, poetic but also very expressive sounds from a concert grand. Again and again she surprises her listeners: "Flushed and at times over-assertive, Kauten leaves you in no doubt of her commitment and intensity", said Bruce Morrison in Gramophone.

Tracklist:

Preludes Op. 28~No. 1 C-major (Agitato)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 2 A-minor (Lento)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 3 G-major (Vivace)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 4 E-minor (Largo)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 5 D-major (Allegro molto)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 6 H-minor (Lento assai)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 7 A-major (Andantino)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 8 F-sharp-minor (Molto agitato)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 9 E-major (Largo)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 10 C-sharp-minor (Allegro molto)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 11 H-major (Vivace)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 12 G-sharp-minor (Presto)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 13 F-sharp-major (Lento)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 14 E-flat-minor (Allegro-pesante)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 15 D-flat-major (Sostenuto)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 16 B-flat-minor (Presto con fuoco)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 17 A-flat-major (Allegretto)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 18 F-minor (Allegro molto)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 19 E-flat-major (Vivace)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 20 C-minor (Largo)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 21 B-flat-major (Cantabile)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 22 G-minor (Molto agitato)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 23 F-major (Moderato)
Preludes Op. 28~No. 24 D-minor (Allegro)
Pictures at an Exhibition~Promenade (Allegro giusto, nel modo rustico, senza allegrezza, ma poco sostenuto)
Pictures at an Exhibition~Gnomus (Sempre vivo)
Pictures at an Exhibition~Promenade (Moderato commodo assai e con delicatezza)
Pictures at an Exhibition~The Old Castle (Andantino molto cantabile e con dolore)
Pictures at an Exhibition~Promenade (Moderato non tanto, pesamente)
Pictures at an Exhibition~The Tuileries Gardens (Allegretto non troppo troppo, capriccioso)
Pictures at an Exhibition~Bydlo (Sempre moderato, pesante)
Pictures at an Exhibition~Promenade (Tranquillo)
Pictures at an Exhibition~Ballet of the Chickens in Their Shells
Pictures at an Exhibition~Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle (Andante. Grave-energico - Andantino)
Pictures at an Exhibition~Promenade (Allegro giusto, nel modo russico, poco sostenuto)
Pictures at an Exhibition~The Market-place at Limoges (Allegretto vivo, sempre scherzando)
Pictures at an Exhibition~The Catacombs Sepulchrum Romanum (Largo)
Pictures at an Exhibition~Con mortuis in lingua mortua (Andante non troppo, con lamento)
Pictures at an Exhibition~The Hut on Fowl's Legs Baba-Yaga (Allegro con brio, feroce - Andante mosso - Allegro molto)
Pictures at an Exhibition~The Great Gate of Kiev (Allegro alla breve. Maestoso. Con grandezza)

UPC: 4260123643546
Label: Solo Musica
Release Date: 5.14.21
Format: CD

Chopin / Kauten - Promenade (CD)