William Youn & Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin & Valentin Uryupin - Hahn Piano Concerto, N.Boulanger Fantaisie Variee, Faure Ballade, Etc : William Youn(P)Valentin Uryupin / Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra - Import 2 CD

Credits:

William Youn & Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin & Valentin Uryupin

Description:

Double Anniversary Release by Arn and Faure! William Yon invites you to the music of Paris in the "Belle Epoque" era. William Yon's first orchestral album, released by Sony Classical in cooperation with the Berlin Radio, features rare concerto-like repertoire by Fauré, Arn, and Nadia Boulanger. The album takes you on a witty musical journey, inviting you to experience the vibrant atmosphere of fin-de-siècle Paris and to enter a Belle Époque salon. These works are, as it were, a story of musical dialogue between soloist and orchestra. With clearly expressed brilliance, sensitive interpretation, and virtuosity, Yon, together with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and conductor Valentin Ulleupin, gives these works their own character. The 150th anniversary of Arn's birth is marked by a rarely performed piano concerto. Although this piece was composed around 1930, it is beautiful, old-fashioned music with the fragrance of the 19th century. As a singer and pianist, Arn was very popular in the Paris salons and was a friend of novelist Marcel Proust, especially known for his songs. Two of his songs, "To Cloris" and "In Ecstasy," were arranged by Yon himself for solo piano. For me, Arn's music embodies the spirit of the Belle Époque, with its melancholy, lightness, and elegance. It is like a gentle breeze at the end of summer, reminding us of the end of a fresh yet beautiful time. Furthermore, the album is also a tribute to the composer Faure, who is celebrating the 100th anniversary of his death. As Arn's teacher and patron of Nadia Boulanger, he left his mark on the history of French music not only in his compositions but also in his influence on his younger successors. In addition to the "Ballade," which Liszt described as unplayable, this recording includes the "Fantasie." Also included is Yon's arrangement for piano of Fauré's famous song "After a Dream. Nadia Boulanger's 1912 "Fantastic Variations" is a rare world premiere recording.The work, written by Boulanger for his musical partner Raul Pugno but unpublished, has only recently been republished with missing pages completed. Yon seems to be taking the entire work into a new era, bringing this colorful and contrasting work with echoes of Franck, Wagner, and Stravinsky's sound worlds closer to contemporary audiences. Sony Music