SCHMITT
COMPLETE ORIGINAL WORKS FOR PIANO DUET AND DUO • 3
Marche du 163e R.I., Op. 48, No. 2
Feuillets de voyage, Op. 26
Musiques foraines, Op. 22

"It is with particular excitement that we welcome the world premiere recording of Musiques foraines, certain to assert itself among the piano duet literature’s most challenging works. A stirring arrangement of Marche du CLXIII–also recorded here for the first time–will provide a fitting opener, with Feuillets de voyage offering an infinite variety of moods and shades." – Andrey Kasparov & Oksana Lutsyshyn

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FLORENT SCHMITT
© Photo Lipnitzki/Roger-Viollet		   ABOUT THIS RELEASE

Florent Schmitt remains one of the most important and influential French composers of the twentieth–century. Although he wrote successfully in almost all forms except opera, he was by training a formidable pianist and his writing for the instrument is colourful, bold and harmonically dextrous.

In the third of this four–disc series, the internationally acclaimed Invencia Piano Duo continues to unearth rare pieces from amongst Schmitt’s extensive output for piano duo and duets.

Schmitt was an inveterate traveller and this permeates his poetic and Romantic Feuillets de voyage (Voyage Pages), Op. 26 whilst Musiques foraines (Carnival Music) Op. 22 reveals Schmitt the festive humorist.

1 Marche du 163e R.I., Op. 48, No. 2 * (07:13)

Feuillets de voyage, Op. 26, Livre I (12:14)
2  Sérénade (03:46)
3  Visite (03:26)
4  Compliments (01:14)
5  Douceur du soir (02:12)
6  Danse britannique (01:27)

Feuillets de voyage, Op. 26, Livre II (15:07)
7  Berceuse (04:27)
8  Mazurka (01:30)
9  Marche burlesq (02:17)
10  Retour à l’endroit familier (03:08)
11  Valse (03:45)

 

Musiques foraines, Op. 22 * (25:17)
12  Parade (04:38)
13  Boniment de clowns (02:41)
14  La belle Fathma (03:37)
15  Les éléphants savants (04:29)
16  La pythonisse (04:39)
17  Chevaux de bois (05:13)

* World Première Recordings

TOTAL TIME: 59:51
THE INVENCIA PIANO DUO
© Glen McClure
 
In the recording studio
   
ABOUT THE ARTISTS

The Invencia Piano Duo has won high critical acclaim for its compelling interpretations of a vast and diverse repertoire. Hailing from Armenian and Ukrainian families, Andrey Kasparov and Oksana Lutsyshyn were educated at the Moscow State Conservatory before moving to Indiana University’s School of Music in Bloomington to pursue advanced studies. They presently make their home in the United States and serve on the faculty at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Additionally, they are Artistic Co–Directors of the Norfolk Chamber Consort. Kasparov and Lutsyshyn are critically acclaimed recording artists. Both members of the duo are recipients of prestigious awards. Lutsyshyn was a prizewinner at the Vienna Modern Masters Third International Performers’ Recording Awards Competition in 1997 and the William Kapell International Piano Competition in College Park, Maryland in 1990. As a result of the latter, she made her début at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Kasparov won the Albert Roussel Prize at the Orléans International Piano Competition in 1998. In 1994 Kasparov gave the première of the newly discovered edition of Béla Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 3, revised by the composer himself. In addition to his career as a pianist, Kasparov is an active composer whose works have been published and recorded by the Kompozitor Publishing House in Moscow and the Atlantic Music Artist Agency in Kiev, among many others. His awards include a prize from the Sergey Prokofiev International Composition Competition in Moscow in 1997 for his Piano Sonata No 2.

Watch The Invencia Piano Duo play: Marche du 163e R.I. 

Duo–pianists Kasparov and Lutsyshyn talk about their new Florent Schmitt Recording Project

Grand Piano is a new premium label dedicated to the exploration of undiscovered keyboard repertoire. Pulling from a deep pool of talent around the globe, Grand Piano brings to life exciting interpretations of these gems of the piano repertoire. Grand Piano will release around 20 new titles each year, including many world premières and complete cycles.
Previous releases:   Other new releases:
   
GP621     GP622
 
 
GP638   GP639
"The chromatic harmonies of the Trois Rhapsodies are delightful..."
– © BBC Music Magazine Jan 2013
"[...] rarely has one heard piano music in such spectacularly good sound as in this Schmitt recording. An outstanding production!"
– PIANONews on Schmitt complete original Works
for Piano duet and duo • 1 (GP621)
For enquiries contact info@grandpianorecords.com
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