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Lu: Chopin – 24 Préludes, Brahms – Intermezzo, Schumann – Ghost Variations (24/96 FLAC)

Lu: Chopin - 24 Préludes, Brahms - Intermezzo, Schumann - Ghost Variations (24/96 FLAC)
Lu: Chopin – 24 Préludes, Brahms – Intermezzo, Schumann – Ghost Variations (24/96 FLAC)

Composer: Frédéric Chopin, Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann
Performer: Eric Lu
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Warner
Size: 980 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

Frédéric Chopin – 24 Preludes, Op. 28
01. No. 1 in C Major
02. No. 2 in A Minor
03. No. 3 in G Major
04. No. 4 in E Minor
05. No. 5 in D Major
06. No. 6 in B Minor
07. No. 7 in A Major
08. No. 8 in F-Sharp Minor
09. No. 9 in E Major
10. No. 10 in C-Sharp Minor
11. No. 11 in B Major
12. No. 12 in G-Sharp Minor
13. No. 13 in F-Sharp Major
14. No. 14 in E-Flat Minor
15. No. 15 in D-Flat Major, Raindrop
16. No. 16 in B-Flat Minor
17. No. 17 in A-Flat Major
18. No. 18 in F Minor
19. No. 19 in E-Flat Major
20. No. 20 in C Minor
21. No. 21 in B-Flat Major
22. No. 22 in G Minor
23. No. 23 in F Major
24. No. 24 in D Minor

Johannes Brahms
25. 3 Intermezzi, Op. 117 No. 1 in E-Flat Major

Robert Schumann – Theme & Variations in E-Flat Major, WoO 24, Ghost Variations
26. I. Theme
27. II. Variation 1
28. III. Variation 2
29. IV. Variation 3
30. V. Variation 4
31. VI. Variation 5

Recorded: 28–30.VIII.2019 Teldex Studio Berlin GmbH (Germany)

The most striking aspect of these Preludes by Chopin undertaken by Eric Lu is the absolutely lyrical tranquility that dominates the forty-minute-long journey which is so arduous to build fluidly and coherently. Eric Lu deserves admiration for the expressive and polyphonic unity that he brings to the cycle, which is usually more contrasted. The American’s playing resounds as his phrases transport you on a grand, noble journey of emotion. Behind this soft façade is a somewhat more tragic melancholy, which increases over the course of the album and reveals the sombre, or at the very least anxious nature of the 24 Preludes. Chopin is at his darkest romanticism, not too far removed from the Schumann of the Kreisleriana (April 1838).

It comes as no surprise that Lu continues his second recital for Warner Classics with one of Schumann’s strangest works, the Theme and Variations in E-flat major, composed in 1854 as a sort of swan song by the German romantic composer. In this tribute to masters of the past including Bach and Beethoven, Schumann risks using particularly stripped back polyphonies in rarefied pianissimo nuances; in doing so, Eric Lu creates a direct link with Chopin’s cycle, firmly remaining on the gentle and meditative side (Variations 2 and 5), without searching for any particular contrast.

Placing fourth in the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, where he already impressed with his rendition of the 24 Preludes, the young American pianist Eric Lu (born in 1997) delivers a captivating recital on this album, sometimes bewildering, but definitely the most accomplished of the three already published − the first was released on German label Genuin. This is definitely a musician to be followed very closely. © Pierre-Yves Lascar/Qobuz

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