Composer: Pierre Sancan
Performer: Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Adam Walker
Orchestra: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Yan Pascal Tortelier
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Chandos
Catalogue: CHAN20154
Release: 2023
Size: 1.13 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Ouverture joyeuse
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
02. I. Modéré
03. II. Andante
04. III. Allegro vivo
Symphonie for String Orchestra
05. I. Allegro vivo
06. II. Andante
07. III. Final
08. Commedia dell’arte Overture
Sonatine for Flute & Piano
09. I. Moderato
10. II. Andante espressivo
11. III. Anime
12. Toccata for Piano
13. Caprice romantique for Piano Left Hand
14. Boîte à musique for Piano
15. Mouvement for Piano
Pierre Sancan was a tremendously influential figure in French musical life, as a composer, pianist, teacher and conductor, but remains relatively unknown outside France. Born in Mazamet in 1916 – the same year as Dutilleux – he received his early musical training in Morocco and later Toulouse. He entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1934 where he studied with Jean Gallon, conducting with Charles Munch and Roger Desormière, piano with Yves Nat, and composition with Henri Busser. He won the Prix de Rome in 1943, and eventually joined the staff in 1956, teaching there until his retirement in 1985. A list of his piano students reads like a who’s who of French pianists and includes Michel Beroff, Jean-Bernard Pommier, Daniel Varsano, Jacques Rouvier, Jean-Philippe Collard and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. Yan Pascal Tortelier, whilst not a direct student of Sancan, attended the Paris conservatoire whilst he was in post, and remembers his influence ‘of course though his extraordinary pianistic imagination but even more so by his physical allure and overwhelming personality.’ This programme of the Piano concerto, orchestral works, works for solo piano and the flute Sonatine (played by Adam Walker) serves as a personal tribute to Sancan from both pianist and conductor, and will hopefully help to raise awareness of this gifted composer.