This recital could almost have been entitled Around FaurÃ© in Sixty Minutes, as the programme devised by Nicolas Stavy spans the entire career of the composer. In April 1863, when Gabriel FaurÃ© noted down the Sonata recorded here for the first time, his 18th birthday was still a month away - the masterly Nocturne in B minor Op. 119, on the other hand, is FaurÃ©'s final work for the piano, composed only two years before his death in 1924. Between them, and the other works included on the album, a fascinating trajectory takes shape. In the Finale of the sonata we hear a young man enjoying himself as he experiments with a Haydnesque idiom; a few years later there are traces of Mendelssohn and Schumann in 3 Romances, and of Chopin in Mazurke - also a world premiÃ¨re recording. Especially when it comes to the choice of genre, Chopin is still an influence during the 1870s and Nocturne No. 1 and the Ballade, but both works testify to a composer finding his own voice. FaurÃ© went on to compose another 12 nocturnes and two of these, No. 6 in D flat major from 1894 and the aforementioned Nocturne in B minor, serve as snapshots illustrating FaurÃ©'s later career and the composer's path towards increasing abstraction and a style characterised by timelessness and a detachment from fashionable trends.

Tracklist:

Nocturne In E-Flat Minor, Op. 33 No. 1
3 Romances Sans Paroles, Op. 17: No. 1 In A-Flat Major
3 Romances Sans Paroles, Op. 17: No. 2 In A Minor
3 Romances Sans Paroles, Op. 17: No. 3 In A-Flat Major
Piano Sonata In F Major: I. Allegro Ma Non Troppo
Piano Sonata In F Major: II. Menuet. Tempo Di Menuetto
Piano Sonata In F Major: III. Finale. Allegro Vivo
Mazurka In B-Flat Major
Nocturne In D-Flat Major, Op. 63
Nocturne In B Minor, Op. 119
Ballade In F-Sharp Major, Op. 19

UPC: 7318599923895
Label: Bis
Release Date: 2.1.19
Format: CD

Faure / Stavy - Piano Music Played By Nicolas Stavy (CD)