ANTHONY BURGESS (1917–1993)
THE BAD-TEMPERED ELECTRONIC KEYBOARD:
24 PRELUDES AND FUGUES (1985)
STEPHANE GINSBURGH
“Anthony Burgess always held a very special place on my bookshelf, not only for his famous novel A Clockwork Orange, but also because he represented a paragon of polymath. Anthony Burgess however thought of himself primarily as a composer who had drifted into writing books. Out of more than 250 scores, The Bad-Tempered Electronic Keyboard, intended as a tribute to Bach on his 300th anniversary, is the composer's most important cycle for piano and a very rare achievement in music literature. This world premiere recording, which has also never been played in public, is composed of 24 preludes and fugues written in a very personal style resulting from influences ranging from Bach to Shostakovich.” – Stephane Ginsburgh
(1917–1993)
About this Recording
During a prolific period in his artistic life, both musically and as an author – he often referred to himself principally as a composer who had drifted into authorship – Anthony Burgess composed a set of 24 Preludes and Fugues called The Bad-Tempered Electronic Keyboard, written to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Johann Sebastian Bach. This ingenious and inventive piece, with its brief romantic and music hall elements, oscillates between the classicism of Bach and the modernity of Shostakovich, whose own set of Preludes and Fugues had been written in 1950–51.
TOTAL PLAYING TIME: 82:18
STEPHANE GINSBURGH
Stephane Ginsburgh has performed concerts worldwide in numerous festivals such as the Agora Ircam, Ars Musica, Bach Academie Brugge, Festival van Vlaanderen, Transit, Tzlil Meudcan, Festival de Marseille, Quincena Musical, Imatronic/ZKM, Darmstadt Ferienkurse, Gaida Festival, and the Ultima Oslo. He explores an extensive repertoire and is also known for experimenting with new configurations including voice, percussion, acting and electronics. He regularly plays with the Ictus Ensemble. He has collaborated with many composers such as Frederic Rzewski, James Tenney, Philippe Boesmans, Jean-Luc Fafchamps, Matthew Shlomowitz and Stefan Prins, as well as choreographers and visual artists. Stephane Ginsburgh has recorded Sergey Prokofiev’s complete piano sonatas for Cyprès Records, Morton Feldman, Erik Satie and Marcel Duchamp for Sub Rosa, and David Toub for World Edition. He studied with Paul Badura-Skoda, Claude Helffer, Jerome Lowenthal and Vitaly Margulis.
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