BENJAMIN GODARD (1849-1895)

Rêve Vécu, Op. 140 • Nocturnes Nos. 1-4
3 Morceaux, Op. 16 • Fantaisie, Op. 143
Renouveau, Op. 82 • Fragments Poétiques, Op. 13

ELIANE REYES

Spanning the breadth of Benjamin Godard’s compositional life this selection of piano music includes the gracious and warm Nocturnes, which show some Chopin influence, and the Trois Fragments Poétiques, Op.13 with their long-spun lyrical melodies. His sparkling vivacity and more virtuosic side can be savoured in the late Fantaisie en trois parties, Op.143.

About this Recording

Bavarian-born BENJAMIN GODARD was one of a galaxy of star pianist-composers of a similar age that included Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Thalberg. A student of Hummel, Henselt developed a breathtaking, idiosyncratic virtuoso technique but stage fright drew him away from performance and more towards composition and then teaching. Moving to St Petersburg in 1838, he established, with Anton Rubinstein, a truly Russian school of pianism. His piano works embrace ferocious technical studies as well as romantic salon pieces that led Schumann to dub Henselt ‘the Chopin of the North’.

ELIANE REYES

Belgian pianist Eliane Reyes is a laureate of the Cziffra Competition at Senlis and has studied at the Brussels Conservatoire Royal, Berlin Hochschule des Künste, Salzburg Mozarteum and the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur. She has an active international concert career. Her recordings have been previously nominated for the International Classical Music Awards, including her recording of piano works by Nicolas Bacri [Naxos 8.572530]. She is professor of piano at the Brussels Conservatoire Royal de Musique.