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A Quatre Mains Françaises

Leo Van Doeselaar / Wyneke Jordans

A Quatre Mains Françaises

Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917210422
Catnr: CC 72104
Release date: 02 October 2006
1 CD
 
Label
Challenge Classics
UPC
0608917210422
Catalogue number
CC 72104
Release date
02 October 2006
Album
Artist(s)
Composer(s)
EN
NL

About the album

Piano duet playing was the most frequent type of domestic music making from the 19th century until well into the 20th century. All important orchestral works, and some less important works as well, appeared in arrangements commissioned by the large publishing houses. In this way one could actively enjoy the same master works in a time when the technique of recording did not yet exist. The Belle Epoque in particular saw the publication of a great deal of original piano duet music and some splendid piano duet arrangements. The same can be said for those turbulent years at the start of the 20th century. This CD is devoted exclusively to this period. The musical "Bric-à-Brac" in this programme was discovered over the course of several years in second-hand music shops in Paris. Camille Saint-Saëns composed his famous "Carnaval des animaux" in 1886 for a carnival concert in one of the salons of Paris. As early as 1922 a long list of arrangements of many of the animal portraits was issued by Durand. Only one arrangement encompassed the whole "Carnaval," and it comes as no surprise that this was the arrangement for piano duet. The Ravel pieces from "L'enfant et les sortilèges"were arranged by the French musician Lucien Garban, who spent a large part of his life making piano duet arrangements of modern orchestral works. The French composer Jean Jamain made an orchestral version of the "Pavane" and an arrangement for piano duet. Jacques Ibert himself turned the piano solo version of "Le petit âne blanc" into one for piano duet. Darius Milhaud's "Le boeuf sur le toit" was intended as a "cinèma-symphonie sur des airs sud-amèricains" for a silent movie with Charlie Chaplin that unfortunately was never made. Wyneke Jordans and Leo van Doeselaar graduated with Jan Wijn at Amsterdam's Sweelinck Conservatory in 1981 and played their graduate recital already as a piano duo. Since 1977 Wyneke and Leo appeared as an established concert duo with orchestras and in recital throughout Europe and the USA. In 1985, the Duo was awarded the Amsterdam 'Publieksprijs' (Audience Award) whilst in the same year they were appointed visiting professors at the Sweelinck Conservatory. For many years they taught at the faculty of the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Currently Leo van Doeselaar is professor of organ at Berlin's Hochschule der Künste. The extensive piano repertoire of the duo covers the rich tradition of music for four hands and for two pianos, as well as contemporary compositions and transcriptions from the orchestral literature.

The duo has particularly specialized in historical performance on the fortepiano. In 1993, recognition by the BBC earned the duo a series of seven concert broadcasts and recordings on historic and modern pianos.

Their "Bach after Bach" CD with Bach-transcriptions by Max Reger received widespread international attention (CC72070).

This CD was acclaimed in the Dutch press: "... exemplary performance" (the provincial dailies); "... playing is flawless, musical and sparkling" (Christo Lelie, "Trouw"); "... magnificently festive, movingly beautiful music, also because of the fine playing and joyous music-making..." (Leo Samama, "Luister"); "With their infectious music-making they have raised these arrangements far above the level of museum pieces" (Thiemo Wind, "Telegraaf")

In 2006 Jordans and Van Doeselaar recorded with Quink Vocal Ensemble the Petite Messe Solennelle composed by Rossini (CC72157).
Piano voor twee
Het spelen van pianoduetten was een van de meest voorkomende manieren om thuis muziek te maken in de 19e eeuw en het begin van de 20e eeuw. Van alle bekende orkestwerken, evenals een aantal minder bekende werken, verschenen bewerkingen in opdracht van grote uitgevers. Op die manier konden veel mensen van de muzikale meesterwerken genieten in een tijd dat opnames nog niet bestonden. Met name aan het einde van de 19e eeuw tot de Eerste Wereldoorlog werden veel duetarrangementen gepubliceerd, en dit album is volledig toegewijd aan deze periode.

In 1886 componeerde Camille Saint-Saëns zijn bekende Carnaval des animeux voor een carnavalconcert in één van de salons in Parijs. Al vanaf 1922 verschenen vele arrangementen van zijn muziek, waarvan één het hele “carnaval” omvat. Ravels L’enfant et les sortilèges werd gearrangeerd door de Franse musicus Lucien Garban, die een groot deel van zijn leven wijdde aan het maken van pianoduetarrangementen van moderne orkestrale werken. De Franse componist Jean Jamain schreef zowel een orkestrale versie van de Pavane en een arrangement voor pianoduet. Jacques Ibert maakte zelf een arrangement voor zijn Le Petit âne blanc en Darius Milhaud’s arrangement van Le boeuf sur le toit werd geschreven voor een stomme film met Charlie Chaplin in de hoofdrol, die helaas nooit geproduceerd is.

Deze bijzondere pianomuziek wordt uitgevoerd door de pianisten Wyneke Jordans en Leo van Doeselaar. Beiden zijn befaamde pianisten met een uitgebreide solocarrière, maar de afgelopen 40 jaar spelen ze vooral samen. Als duo worden ze internationaal geprezen en hebben ze meerdere albums opgenomen.

Artist(s)

Leo van Doeselaar (piano)

The versatile musician Leo van Doeselaar plays a repertoire comprising of several centuries as an organist, pianist and fortepianist. In his interpretations he strives for the greatest possible purity of style, and he performs on both period and modern instruments. As an organist he has built up a large concert practice in the Netherlands and abroad. He is also a much sought-after pianist, partners Wyneke Jordans in a widely acclaimed duo-piano team, and performs as an accompanist. As a soloist van Doeselaar has performed with various conductors, including Mariss Jansons, Riccardo Chailly, Charles Dutoit, Claus-Peter Flor, Frans Brüggen and David Zinman. As organist of the Baroque Orchestra of the Dutch Bach Society and titular organist of the Concertgebouw he has regularly performed...
more
The versatile musician Leo van Doeselaar plays a repertoire comprising of several centuries as an organist, pianist and fortepianist. In his interpretations he strives for the greatest possible purity of style, and he performs on both period and modern instruments. As an organist he has built up a large concert practice in the Netherlands and abroad. He is also a much sought-after pianist, partners Wyneke Jordans in a widely acclaimed duo-piano team, and performs as an accompanist.
As a soloist van Doeselaar has performed with various conductors, including Mariss Jansons, Riccardo Chailly, Charles Dutoit, Claus-Peter Flor, Frans Brüggen and David Zinman. As organist of the Baroque Orchestra of the Dutch Bach Society and titular organist of the Concertgebouw he has regularly performed with renowned orchestras and leading early music specialists.
Van Doeselaar has made several recordings, both as a soloist and as a duo with Wyneke Jordans. He has made the first integral recording of the organ works of Georg Friedrich Händel and Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, and has also made recordings of the works of Mozart, Bach, Krebs, Mendelssohn, van Noordt, Liszt, Franck en Reger on historic organs.

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Composer(s)

Maurice Ravel

Joseph Maurice Ravel was a French composer who is often associated with impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In the 1920s and 1930s Ravel was internationally regarded as France's greatest living composer. Born to a music-loving family, Ravel attended France's premier music college, the Paris Conservatoire; he was not well regarded by its conservative establishment, whose biased treatment of him caused a scandal. After leaving the Conservatoire Ravel found his own way as a composer, developing a style of great clarity, incorporating elements of baroque, neoclassicism and, in his later works, jazz. He liked to experiment with musical form, as in his best-known work, Boléro (1928), in which repetition takes the place of...
more
Joseph Maurice Ravel was a French composer who is often associated with impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In the 1920s and 1930s Ravel was internationally regarded as France's greatest living composer.
Born to a music-loving family, Ravel attended France's premier music college, the Paris Conservatoire; he was not well regarded by its conservative establishment, whose biased treatment of him caused a scandal. After leaving the Conservatoire Ravel found his own way as a composer, developing a style of great clarity, incorporating elements of baroque, neoclassicism and, in his later works, jazz. He liked to experiment with musical form, as in his best-known work, Boléro (1928), in which repetition takes the place of development. He made some orchestral arrangements of other composers' music, of which his 1922 version of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition is the best known.
As a slow and painstaking worker, Ravel composed fewer pieces than many of his contemporaries. Among his works to enter the repertoire are pieces for piano, chamber music, two piano concertos, ballet music, two operas, and eight song cycles; he wrote no symphonies and only one religious work. Many of his works exist in two versions: a first, piano score and a later orchestration. Some of his piano music, such as Gaspard de la nuit (1908), is exceptionally difficult to play, and his complex orchestral works such as Daphnis et Chloé (1912) require skilful balance in performance.

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Darius Milhaud

Darius Milhaud was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. Together with Francis Poulenc, he was a member of Les Six, also known as The Group of Six. This group of French composers from the 1920s aimed to clear music of the impressionism of Claude Debussy, and German influences such as the Romanticism of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. Their motto was 'L'art pour l'art': they composed music for the sake of music, without any 'meaning' or extramusical intents.  Milhaud was one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and Brazilian music and make extensive use of polytonality. Milhaud is considered one of the key modernist composers.
more
Darius Milhaud was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. Together with Francis Poulenc, he was a member of Les Six, also known as The Group of Six. This group of French composers from the 1920s aimed to clear music of the impressionism of Claude Debussy, and German influences such as the Romanticism of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. Their motto was "L'art pour l'art": they composed music for the sake of music, without any 'meaning' or extramusical intents. Milhaud was one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and Brazilian music and make extensive use of polytonality. Milhaud is considered one of the key modernist composers.

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Camille Saint-Saëns

Camille Saint-Saëns was a French composer, conductor, pianist and organist. He was a musical prodigy, writing his first pieces of music at the age of four and making his concert debut at the age of ten. During this concert he astonished the audience by playing one of the 32 piano sonatas of Beethoven at its request. After his studying at the Conservatory of Paris he followed a career as a church organist at Saint-Merri and later La Madeleine in Paris. He was also a successful freelance composer and pianist in France and abroad. Saint-Saëns initially helped to introduce German composers such as Robert Schumann and Richard Wagner in France. However, from 1870 onwards anti-German sentiments began to arise in France as...
more
Camille Saint-Saëns was a French composer, conductor, pianist and organist. He was a musical prodigy, writing his first pieces of music at the age of four and making his concert debut at the age of ten. During this concert he astonished the audience by playing one of the 32 piano sonatas of Beethoven at its request. After his studying at the Conservatory of Paris he followed a career as a church organist at Saint-Merri and later La Madeleine in Paris. He was also a successful freelance composer and pianist in France and abroad.
Saint-Saëns initially helped to introduce German composers such as Robert Schumann and Richard Wagner in France. However, from 1870 onwards anti-German sentiments began to arise in France as a result of the Franco-Prussian War, which enhanced support for the idea of a pro-French musical society. In 1871 Saint-Saëns consequently founded the Société Nationale de Musique together with Romain Bussine, that was devoted to the promotion of French music and organised concerts on which young composers could perform their works.
Saint-Saëns was a keen traveler, and made 179 trips to 27 different countries during his life. He favoured Algeria and Egypt, were he gained inspiration for compositions such as the Suite Algérienne and the Fifth Piano Concerto, also known as The Egyptian.
Saint-Saëns' best-known works include the First Cello Concerto, Third Symphony, the opera Samson et Dalila, Danse Macabre and Le carnaval des animaux, a humorous suite in which various animals are musically portrayed. However, he never wanted the last work to be performed, since it was contrary to his image as a serious composer.
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Press

Play album Play album
01.
Le boeuf sur le toit, op.58
18:15
(Darius Milhaud) Wyneke Jordans, Leo van Doeselaar
02.
Pavane pour une infante defunte
06:11
(Maurice Ravel) Wyneke Jordans, Leo van Doeselaar
03.
L' enfant et les sortilèges: Valses: Danse des Rainettes et Danse des Libellules et des Sphinx (Valse Américaine)
03:19
(Maurice Ravel) Wyneke Jordans, Leo van Doeselaar
04.
L' enfant et les sortilèges: Five o’clock, Fox-Trot
02:14
(Maurice Ravel) Wyneke Jordans, Leo van Doeselaar
05.
Histoires: Le petit âne blanc
02:14
(Camille Saint-Saëns) Wyneke Jordans, Leo van Doeselaar
06.
Le carnaval des animaux : Introduction et Marche Royale du Lion
02:11
(Camille Saint-Saëns) Wyneke Jordans, Leo van Doeselaar
07.
Le carnaval des animaux : Poules et Coqs
00:44
(Camille Saint-Saëns) Wyneke Jordans, Leo van Doeselaar
08.
Le carnaval des animaux : Hémiones (Amimaux véloces)
00:36
(Camille Saint-Saëns) Wyneke Jordans, Leo van Doeselaar
09.
Le carnaval des animaux : Tortues
01:47
(Camille Saint-Saëns) Wyneke Jordans, Leo van Doeselaar
10.
Le carnaval des animaux : L’Eléphant
01:24
(Camille Saint-Saëns) Wyneke Jordans, Leo van Doeselaar
11.
Le carnaval des animaux : Kangourous
00:45
(Camille Saint-Saëns) Wyneke Jordans, Leo van Doeselaar
12.
Le carnaval des animaux : Aquarium
02:23
(Camille Saint-Saëns) Wyneke Jordans, Leo van Doeselaar
13.
Le carnaval des animaux : Personnages à longues oreilles
00:36
(Camille Saint-Saëns) Wyneke Jordans, Leo van Doeselaar
14.
Le carnaval des animaux : Le Coucou au fond des bois
02:38
(Camille Saint-Saëns) Wyneke Jordans, Leo van Doeselaar
15.
Le carnaval des animaux : Volière
01:21
(Camille Saint-Saëns) Wyneke Jordans, Leo van Doeselaar
16.
Le carnaval des animaux : Pianistes
01:32
(Camille Saint-Saëns) Wyneke Jordans, Leo van Doeselaar
17.
Le carnaval des animaux : Fossiles
01:22
(Camille Saint-Saëns) Wyneke Jordans, Leo van Doeselaar
18.
Le carnaval des animaux : Le Cygne
02:46
(Camille Saint-Saëns) Wyneke Jordans, Leo van Doeselaar
19.
Le carnaval des animaux : Final
02:01
(Camille Saint-Saëns) Wyneke Jordans, Leo van Doeselaar
show all tracks

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