Avant-Dernieres Pensees

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SATIE
Avant-Dernieres Pensees
Alexandre Tharaud (piano) with Isabelle Faust (violin) & Jean Delescluse (tenor)

[ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD ]

Release Date: Friday 20 February 2009

This item is currently out of stock. It may take 6 or more weeks to obtain from when you place your order as this is a specialist product.

"Tharaud deals out Satie's surrealism with style, from tongue-in-cheek Chopin quotes to final cadences that go on and on ... and then some. There are pieces which poke fun at precious Debussian soundscapes and others which take sides with the acerbic Stravinsky."
(William Dart NZ Herald Five stars)

"My aim in these two discs has been to offer the richest possible panorama of Satie's piano and chamber music, ranging over his whole lifetime. . . .Immersed in the world of Satie, we were touched, often deeply moved by the trust he shows in his interpreters." Alexandre Tharaud

"There was a time when it was difficult to escape Satie's Gymnopedies. These artless little waltzes seemed the perfect ambient background for everything from television advertisements to lift music.

Alexandre Tharaud's new two-CD set, Avant-Dernieres Pensees, proves there is so much more to the eccentric Monsieur Satie (1866-1925). The French pianist gives us just one of the Gymnopedies, soulfully played, but includes all of the more gnarly Gnossiennes.

The first disc of this handsome Harmonia Mundi release, which comes complete with a 74-page booklet, lays out 42 of the piano miniatures. These bite-sized morceaux never allow us to forget that here was a composer given to asking his pianist to "play like a nightingale with toothache"; a maverick muso who titled his works Dried-Up Embryos and Automatic Descriptions.

Tharaud deals out Satie's surrealism with style, from tongue-in-cheek Chopin quotes to final cadences that go on and on ... and then some. There are pieces which poke fun at precious Debussian soundscapes and others which take sides with the acerbic Stravinsky.

A 93-second gem is the jaunty cakewalk of Le Piccadilly. With the seven instalments of Medusa's Trap, the unwary might suspect a few pages of music have slipped between the strings when, in fact, Satie is pre-empting the prepared piano of John Cage.

On the second disc, Eric Le Sage joins Tharaud for various duets including the famously titled Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear and violinist Isabelle Faust takes a break from more strenuous concerto repertoire to take part in wistful fugues and fantasies.

Particularly welcome are a range of Satie's songs, especially those sung by cabaret chanteuse Juliette. She brings a touch of Piaf to the charming waltz of Je te veux and the medical examination in At the Doctor's is nothing more than Left Bank Gilbert and Sullivan."
(5 Stars William Dart)

Tracks:

Six Gnossiennes
Gnossienne No. 7
Petite Ouverture à danser
Gymnopédie No. 1
Véritables préludes flasques (pour un chien)
Les trois valses distinguées du précieux dégouté
Le Piccadilly
Descriptions automatiques
Les Pantins dansent
Le Piège de Méduse
Sept pièces pour piano
Pièces froides
Avant Dernières Pensées (Idylle, Aubade, Méditation)
Gambades
Embryons desséchés
Valse-Ballet (Airs à faire fuir 1-3)
Heures séculaires et instantanées
Première pensée Rose & Croix
Poudre d'or

Chez le docteur
with Juliette (voice)

J'avais un ami
with Juliette (voice)

La diva de l'empire
with Juliette (voice)

Daphénéo
with Jean Delescluse (tenor)

Ludions
with Jean Delescluse (tenor)

Allons-y Chochotte
with Jean Delescluse (tenor)

Trois Morceaux En Forme De Poire
with Eric le Sage (piano)

La belle excentrique
with Eric le Sage (piano)

Cinéma
with Eric le Sage (piano)

Choses Vues A Droite Et A Gauche (San Lunettes)
with Isabelle Faust (violin)

Embarquement pour Cythère
with Isabelle Faust (violin)

La statue retrouvée, incidental music
with David Guerrier (trumpet)