Composer: Conrad Beck
Performer: Gabrielle Beck-Lipsi
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Toccata
Catalogue: TOCC0301
Release: 2016
Size: 255 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
2 Tanzstücke
01. No. 1. Boston
02. No. 2. Foxtrot
Piano Sonatina No. 1
03. I. Allegro molto vivace
04. II. Lento
05. III. Allegro energico
06. Danse
Klavierstücke I
07. No. 1. Allegro
08. No. 2. Andante sostenuto
09. No. 3. Allegro giocoso
10. No. 4. Lento
11. No. 5. Allegro ma non troppo
12. No. 6. Allegro molto vivace
Klavierstücke II
13. No. 1. Allegro energico
14. No. 2. Lento
15. No. 3. Allegro moderato
16. No. 4. Allegro
17. No. 5. Presto
Piano Sonatina No. 2
18. I. Con anima
19. II. Lento
20. III. Presto
10 Klavierstücke für den Hausgebrauch
21. No. 1. Kleiner Marsch
22. No. 2. Fur eine stille Stunde
23. No. 3. Erzahlung
24. No. 4. Unrast
25. No. 5. Melodie
26. No. 6. Intermezzo
27. No. 7. Ballade
28. No. 8. Schnell vorbei
29. No. 9. Zuversicht
30. No. 10. Entschluss
31. Prelude
This CD shines light on a major twentieth-century composer whose music has been almost entirely forgotten since his death.
The Swiss composer Conrad Beck (1901–89) wrote a generous amount of music, including seven symphonies, around twenty concertos and concertante works, four string quartets, some large-scale choral works, solo songs and much else, and during his lifetime he enjoyed the strong support of Paul Sacher.
This first recording of his complete piano music reveals a style similar to that of Hindemith and Honegger, with clear contrapuntal textures in a Neo-Classical tradition ultimately derived from Bach – and with a hint of the French accent his music acquired from the years he spent in 1920s Paris.
This recording has been made by Beck’s daughter-in-law, Gabrielle Beck-Lipsi, who studied the music with the composer, thus giving it the seal of authenticity.
Gabrielle Beck-Lipsi (born in Zurich in 1941) is the daughter of the Parisian sculptor Morice Lipsi and the Swiss painter Hildegard Weber-Lipsi and the wife of Hans Jacob Beck, son of Conrad Beck. She studied piano at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique and the École Normale in Paris (1958–62) with Vlado Perlemuter, Marcel Ciampi and Ina Marica. Then, for almost thirty years, she worked as a photographer and for other cultural projects. It was only in 1996 that she returned to the piano – but with more enthusiasm than ever. She then began to perform in various European countries and has recorded mainly Impressionist and modern music.