Study of the Invisible Vanessa Wagner

• Suzanne Ciani (b. 1946):
• 1 Ciani: Rain 01:59
• Harold Budd (b. 1936):
• 2 Budd: La Casa Bruja 05:05
• Bryce Dessner (b. 1976):
• 3 Dessner: Lullaby (Song for Octave) 03:39
• David Lang (b. 1957):
• 4 Lang: Spartan Arcs 03:31
• Roger Eno (b. 1959), Brian Eno (b. 1948):
• 5 Eno, Eno: Celeste 04:39
• Philip Glass (b. 1937):
• 6 Glass: Etude n°16 04:52
• Julia Wolfe (b .1958):
• 7 Wolfe: Earring 02:07
• Caroline Shaw (b. 1982):
• 8 Shaw: Gustave Le Gray 13:31
• Moondog (1916 - 1999):
• 9 Moondog: Prelude n°1 in A Minor 02:53
• Timo Andres (b. 1985):
• 10 Andres: Wise Words 03:12
• Peter Garland (b. 1952):
• 11 Garland: Nostalgia 03:18
• Philip Glass:
• 12 Glass: Etude n°6 04:40
• Nico Muhly (b. 1981):
• 13 Muhly: Etude n°3 Running 02:28
• Ezio Bosso (1971 - 2020):
• 14 Bosso: Before 6 03:00
• Melaine Dalibert (b .1979):
• 15 Dalibert: Epilogue 03:11
• Total Runtime 01:02:05

Info for Study of the Invisible

Vanessa Wagner continues her exploration of the minimalist repertoire by introducing her audience to pieces, many rare or unpublished, by acclaimed composers, young pianists, and genre-bending personalities from the ambient and electronic scenes. In France or even Europe, Vanessa Wagner is practically the only classical pianist to tackle this contemporary and timeless repertoire. ‘Study Of The Invisible’ features interpretations of pieces by a spectrum of composers that includes Suzanne Ciani, Harold Budd, David Lang, Bryce Dessner and Phillip Glass.

The first track to be taken from the album is her singular version of Roger and Brian Eno "Celeste" recorded for the first time for acoustic piano. “Celeste” was originally released in “Mixing Colors” on Deutsch Gramophone in 2020. Brian Eno admits that the bulk of the album was composed while travelling by train. The naked beauty of the melody played on the piano by Vanessa Wagner in her interpretation enhances a new depth and interiority onto the piece.

"I've been listening to Brian Eno's music for many years, its ambient layers and soaring atmospheres from which sometimes (...) melodies emerge. Listening again to the synthesizer version of Celeste played by Roger Eno, I thought that the acoustic sound of a solo piano would give it a different, perhaps more timeless colour. The purity of the piano sound focuses on the melodic aspect of this piece, while preserving its melancholic core" (Vanessa Wagner)

Vanessa Wagner, piano

Vanessa Wagner
A highly individual musician, Vanessa Wagner is characterised by her sensitive and thoughtful playing, the richness of her tone colour, and her artistic choices, which prompt her to traverse the di erent repertories, from that of the fortepiano (which she plays on period instruments) to the music of our time, notably that of Pascal Dusapin and François Meïmoun, both of whom have dedicated several pieces to her. After obtaining a Premier Prix at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris in Dominique Merlet’s class and a postgraduate diploma in the class of Jean-François Heisser, she entered the International Piano Academy Lake Como, where she received the guidance of such great masters as Leon Fleisher, Dmitri Bashkirov, Murray Perahia, Fou Ts’ong and Alexis Weissenberg.

Since being named ‘Solo Instrumental Discovery of the Year’ at the Victoires de la Musique in 1999, Vanessa Wagner has appeared with the leading international orchestras and conductors.

She is also a sought-after chamber music partner, and often shares the concert platform with her musician friends, notably Augustin Dumay, with whom she has a privileged partnership, the pianists Marie Vermeulin, Cédric Tiberghien and Wilhem Latchoumia, and Murcof, a renowned musician on the electro scene.

Vanessa Wagner is artistic director of the Festival de Chambord and has been appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

This album contains no booklet.