Stefania Argentieri - Russian Piano Music 15 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

F. Martin - Jitka Hosprova Plays Martinu Stamitz & Lukas [COMPACT DISCS] date 09/09/2014

This is the second album in the Russian Piano series devoted to Prokofiev and includes his first and sixth Sonatas and other works demonstrating his wide ranging soundworld. His eclecticism has enabled him as a very 'serious' composer of post-Romantic, neo-tonal works - often modernistic and at times aggressive, to be appreciated by a wider general audience than many of his contemporaries. Stefania Argentieri is a young Italian pianist of consummate skill, necessary to give full expression to the music of Prokofiev. She has won many awards and has performed at prestigious events in Europe and the USA. She teaches at the Giordano Conservatory in Foggia and is also working as a music editor. Stefania has made recordings with her chamber ensemble and this is her first solo album, no doubt one of many for someone who has the brightest of futures.

Born in 1985, the Italian pianist Maria Argentiero gained an enthusiastic online following during lockdown with her streamed performances of repertoire from Haydn to Satie, Kapustin and beyond. She teaches in Rome and specializes as a performer in quirkier voices from the past century such as Tansman. The booklet features a thorough profile of the composer and his piano music, plus an interview between Maria Argentiero and Marianne Tansman, the composer's daughter, who recalls him as a 'very loving but very anxious' father. Alexander Tansman (1897-1986) was born in Lodz, Poland, into a wealthy Jewish family of great culture. He spoke 5 languages and studied law and philosophy. His early compositions show experiments with atonality and 12-tone music. In 1919 he left Poland for Paris, where he settled permanently. Tansman InchI spent the first twenty years of my life in Poland. In regard to the importance of Slavic influence in my music, I can readily say that I followed the same path as Bartók or Manuel de Falla folklore imaginé. I did not use popular themes per se. I used, however, their general melodic contour. This folklore remained strongly present in my musical sensitivity.Inch One could say that Tansman had a similar approach to writing music as Chopin - namely to use folklore as source material to be transformed by his imagination, without actual quoting. In a similar vein he used the different traditions he encountered when travelling round the globe, no matter whether it was jazz, gamelan or Japanese music. This new recording presents a selection of piano music by Tansman the jazzy Sonatine Transatlantique, Trois Préludes en forme de blues, and the cycle La Tour du monde en miniature, delightful and vibrant musical depictions of places from all over the world.