Charles Hamelin - Live: Beethoven Enescu & Chopin - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Outside Italy-perhaps beyond the shores of his native Sicily-the name of Eliodoro Sollima (1926-2000) has not traveled widely, beyond the accomplishments of his five musical children, and in particular the cellist Giovanni Sollima. On a previous Brilliant Classics album (96287) from 2022, Giovanni paid a touching tribute to his father's memory with a collection of chamber music.InchThis album is a winner!Inch reported Fanfare magazine, and noted how the Inchcompositional style of this substantial and serious composer developed significantlyInch between 1945 and 1995. This new album of Eliodoro Sollima's orchestral music covers a similar period, between the Aria for cello and strings (1945) and Attesa (1997).Attesa (InchWaitingInch) is the most substantial piece on the album, scored for the unusual combination of piano, horns, strings, and percussion a powerful seven-movement suite inspired by the suffering of a man given the death penalty in the US state of Virginia and executed in 1997. Sollima worked within a tonal framework to evoke, in his words, Inchthe frantic sequence of images, memories and emotions that torment the last hours of a condemned man's life.InchThe pianist and musicologist Anna Maria Sollima (sister to Giovanni) supplies insightful annotations, which trace the course of Eliodoro's life and career through the works recorded here. World premieres on record include the early Ouverture da camera (1948/50) and Rondò burlesco (1951) for piano and orchestra, carried forward by strong, cinematically flavored melodies.From 1968, the Concerto per archi (Concerto for strings) is another work with a political subtext, inspired by the shock arising from the assassination of Bobby Kennedy. But Sollima always stayed true to his Sicilian roots and continued to translate the idioms of local folk music in his own contemporary style a commitment exemplified by Neni

Charles Richard-Hamelin continues his exploration of the works of Chopin, combining them with rare Spanish works composed at the turn of the 19th century. Frederic Chopin, Isaac Albeniz and Enrique Granados were all virtuoso pianists whose music is characterized by rich melody, refined harmony and fantasy. The pieces that make up this program echo each other by interweaving poetry and dance through both familiar and obscure melodies.

This new album by Charles Richard-Hamelin presents two important works from Frederic Chopin's repertoire, 24 Preludes, Op. 28 and Andante spianato & Grande polonaise brillante, Op. 22, and confirms that he is one of the world's elite pianists. Writing about Richard-Hamelin, BBC Music Magazine characterized his playing as Inchfluent, multifaceted and tonally seductive... a technician of exceptional elegance and sophistication.Inch Qualities that are made evident on this brilliant new album. Charles Richard-Hamelin is well known on the international music scene as a Inchhighly sensitiveInch pianist (Gramophone), driven by Incha great depth of feeling without the slightest pretenseInch (Le Devoir). He is recognized as Inchfluent, multifaceted and tonally seductive... a technician of exceptional elegance and sophisticationInch (BBC Music Magazine).