PAUL LE FLEM (1881–1984)

COMPLETE PIANO WORKS

GIORGIO KOUKL

“Paul Le Flem's music expresses the essence and magnificence of the Breton coast -- the rough sea, the colours of the Atlantic's "finis terrae", the mystery of old legends, the melancholy, the endurance of its inhabitants and the richness of their culture. No one has captured all this as elegantly and sincerely as he did.” – Giorgio Koukl

About this Recording

Paul Le Flem belonged to the Parisian circle of Martinů, Tcherepnin and Tansman, summing up his own music as a fusion of three influences: his native Brittany, Debussy and D’Indy. His career was sadly interrupted by World War I, but the intense poetry of his earlier works reflect the ever-changing land and seascapes of Brittany, and the variety of its mysteries and legends from the lighthearted to the disquieting. Of special note among the première recordings on this album are the atonal Pour la main droite, the wartime Mélancolie with its opening and perhaps ironic quotation from La Marseillaise, and Les Korrigans, a waltz inspired by the Korrigan, a magical creature in Breton folklore.

GIORGIO KOUKL

Giorgio Koukl is a pianist/harpsichordist and composer based in Lugano, Switzerland. Born in Prague, he studied at the State Music School and Conservatoire before moving to Switzerland and continuing his studies at the Conservatoires of Zürich and Milan. Koukl’s complete recordings of Martinů’s piano music for Naxos have been critically acclaimed as “a delight” (Gramophone) and “estimable and important” (MusicWeb International).

“Giorgio Koukl, true master of contrasting and powerful playing, delivers these muscled works with ease and nature and signs a reference straight away”
– Classica, ★★★★ (on Vol. 2 of the Complete Piano Music of Alexander Tcherepnin)