Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven, André Caplet, Robert Casadesus, Alexis Emmanuel Chabrier, Frédéric François Chopin, Claude Achille Debussy, Gabriel Urbain Fauré, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Maurice Ravel, Domenico Scarlatti, Franz Peter Schubert, Robert Schumann, Deodat de Severac, Carl Maria von Weber, Georges-Martin Witkowski
Performer: Robert Casadesus, Joseph Calvet, Léon Pascal, Paul Mas, Maurice Maréchal, René le Roy
Orchestra: Orchestre symphonique de Paris, Orchestre des concerts Straram
Conductor: Eugène Bigot, Walther Straram, Georges Martin Witkowski
Number of Discs: 4
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: APR
Catalogue: APR7404
Release: 2019
Size: 1.01 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
CD 01
01. Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in D Major, Kk. 430, L. 463
02. Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in A Major, Kk. 533, L. 395
03. Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in D Major, Kk. 23, L. 411
04. Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in B Minor, Kk. 377. L. 263
05. Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in D Major, Kk. 96, L. 465
06. Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in D Minor, Kk. 9, L. 413
07. Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in G Major, Kk. 125, L. 487
08. Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata K27 in B minor
09. Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in G Major, Kk. 14, L. 387
10. Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in E Minor, Kk. 198, L. 22
11. Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in G Major, Kk. 13, L. 486
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K491
12. I. Allegro
13. II. Larghetto
14. III. Allegretto
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 26 in D major, K537 ‘Coronation’
15. I. Allegro
16. II. Larghetto (Excerpts)
17. III. Allegretto
CD 02
01. Mozart: Rondo in D major, K485
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 26 in E flat major, Op. 81a ‘Les Adieux’
02. I. Das Lebewohl. Adagio – Allegro
03. II. Abwesenheit. Andante espressivo
04. III. Das Wiedersehen. Vivacissimamente
Schubert: Piano Sonata in A Major, Op. Posth. 120, D. 664
05. I. Allegro moderato
06. II. Andante
07. III. Allegro
Schubert: Ländler (12) D790
08. Nos. 1, 3-8 & 11
09. Weber: Konzertstück in F minor, Op. 79 for piano & orchestra
Schumann: Études symphoniques, Op. 13
10. Theme. Andante
11. No. 1, Var. 1
12. No. 2, Var. 2
13. No. 3, Vivace
14. No. 4, Var. 3
15. No. 5, Var. 4
16. No. 6, Var. 5
17. No. 7, Var. 6
18. No. 8, Var. 7
19. No. 9, Presto possible
20. No. 10, Var. 8
21. No. 11, Var. 9
22. No. 10, Finale. Alegro brillante
Schumann: Waldszenen, Op. 82
23. No. 7, Vogel als Prophet
CD 03
01. Chopin: Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23
02. Chopin: Ballade No. 2 in F major, Op. 38
03. Chopin: Ballade No. 3 in A flat major, Op. 47
04. Chopin: Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52
05. Chopin: Mazurka No. 13 in A minor, Op. 17 No. 4
06. Chabrier: Impromptu
Chabrier: Pièces pittoresques
07. No. 10, Scherzo-Valse
08. Fauré: Prélude in D Minor, Op. 103 No. 5
09. Fauré: Impromptu No. 5 in F sharp minor Op. 102
Fauré: Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor Op. 15
10. I. Allegro molto moderato
11. II. Scherzo. Allegro vivo
12. III. Adagio
13. IV. Allegro molto
CD 04
Severac: Cerdaña
01. No. 5, Le retour des muletiers
Debussy: Cello Sonata
02. I. Prologue. Lent
03. II. Sérénade. Modérément animé
04. III. Final. Animé, léger et nerveux
05. Caplet: Epiphanie (Excerpt) [Arr. for Cello & Piano]
06. Ravel: Jeux d’eau
07. Witkowski: Mon lac
Casadesus: Flute Sonata, Op. 18
08. I. Allegro moderato
09. II. Andante
10. III. Molto vivo
Robert Casadesus (1899-1972) is today almost considered an American pianist – he based himself there from the Second World War onwards and he is known today through the huge number of recordings he made for US Columbia from 1940 until his death, but as a musician and pianist he was French to the core. He had studied at the Paris conservatoire with Isidor Philipp and Louis Diémer and his combination of immaculate technique, a light and brilliant touch and the refined elegance of his interpretations reveal why he was considered one of the greatest French pianists of the century. Casadesus began his recording career for French Columbia in 1928 and all his recordings for that label, until he left for the USA, are included here for the first time. Particularly noteworthy is a previously unpublished studio recording of Mozart’s ‘Coronation’ concerto. He excelled in Mozart and Chopin and in French repertoire and all are well-represented in this collection. There are also noteworthy chamber collaborations in the Debussy cello sonata and Fauré Piano Quartet.
Playing with clarity and a refined touch: these were recurring themes of descriptions of the subtle art of the French pianist Robert Casadesus (1899-1972). The label APR has chosen a most opportune movement to restore all the recordings that he made in the inter-war years for Columbia, from 1928 and 1939. The work was done with great care, removing surface noise without impairing the quality of the initial recording.
This publication is a goldmine for anyone who only knows Casadesus from his later recordings: here we can hear a man in the full bloom of youth. What a treat are these eleven finely-chiselled Sonatas by Scarlatti, for example: their dazzling volubility and virtuosity leave us flabbergasted. Once again, we can only admire the freedom of the pianists of the era, their sense of colour and their choices of incredibly rapid tempos. The programme, which runs to four records is as varied as it is copious, offering works from the “great repertoire” (Scarlatti, two Mozart Concertos, Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin’s Four Ballades), but also rare pearls that we discover or return to with pleasure, such as the delicate symphonic poem with piano, Mon Lac (inspired by the lake Paladru in the Isère) by that inimitable organiser of Lyon’s musical life, Georges Martin Witkowski – a piece that Casadesus loved to play; the Sonata for Cello and Piano by Debussy with Maurice Maréchal; Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 1 with the legendary Calvet Quartet; and indeed the Sonata for Flute and Piano by Casadesus himself, which he plays with René Le Roy. This anthology revives a pianist who was much-loved in his day, both at home in France and around the world and especially in the United States.