Pesson, Abrahamsen & Strasnoy: Piano Concertos Alexandre Tharaud

• Hans Abrahmansen (b. 1952): Left, alone:
• 1 Abrahamsen: Left, alone: I. Very fast 02:36
• 2 Abrahamsen: Left, alone: II. Slowly walking 03:26
• 3 Abrahamsen: Left, alone: III. Presto fluente 01:24
• 4 Abrahamsen: Left, alone: IV. Slowly 00:52
• 5 Abrahamsen: Left, alone: V. Prestissimo tempestuoso 01:57
• 6 Abrahamsen: Left, alone: VI. In a tempo from another time - In a time for a slow motion - Suddenly in flying time, "Fairy Tale Time" 06:56
• Gerard Pesson (b. 1958): Future Is a Faded Song (Future Is a Faded Song):
• 7 Pesson: Future Is a Faded Song (Future Is a Faded Song) 23:37
• Oscar Strasnoy (b. 1970): Kuleshov:
• 8 Strasnoy: Kuleshov 22:01
• Total Runtime 01:02:49

Info for Pesson, Abrahamsen & Strasnoy: Piano Concertos

This album brings together world premiere recordings of three aesthetically diverse piano concertos that were written for Alexandre Tharaud. They are Left, alone by the Dane Hans Abrahamsen (b. 1952), Future is a faded song by the Frenchman Gérard Pesson (b.1958) and Kuleshov by the Argentian-born Frenchman Oscar Strasnoy (b.1970). Strasnoy has said that his concerto was “inspired by Alexandre Tharaud’s unique and inimitable phrasing and clarity of playing.” No doubt those words could apply to all three works on the album.

Alexandre Tharaud, piano
Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
Les Violons du Roy
Tito Ceccherini
Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor
Mathieu Lussier, conductor

Alexandre Tharaud
For Harmonia Mundi, Alexandre made a series of successful and award winning recordings which included discs of Rameau, Ravel (complete piano works), Bach (Italian Concerti), Couperin, Satie. He has recorded a series of Chopin discs; the complete waltzes and twenty four preludes as well as a personal selection, Journal Intime, which marked his first release with EMI Classics. Subsequent, award winning releases include JS Bach’s keyboard concertos and a selection of Scarlatti’s sonatas.

In recent seasons, Alexandre has appeared at the Köln Philharmonie, Bern Casino, Essen Philharmonie, South Bank piano series, Rudolfinum in Prague, Krakow Philharmonic, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Cité de la Musique, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, John F Kennedy Centre and Hoam Art Hall in Seoul. His festival credits include ‘Piano aux Jacobins', La Roque d'Anthéron, BBC PROMS, Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music, Sacrum-Profanum in Krakow, Schleswig-Holstein and the Rimini festival.

Alexandre is a Resident Artist at the MC2 in Grenoble, and was the Artistic Director of the Amadeus festival in Switzerland in 2011.

As a soloist, Alexandre has performed with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestre National de Bordeaux-Aquitaine, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfonica do Estado de Sao Paulo, Umea Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken,

Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Taïwan National Symphony Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Les Violons du Roy and the Bolchoi Theatre Orchestra. Next season will see him perform Poulenc’s concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

His close collaboration with cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras has led to invitations to perform at the most prestigious halls around the world and recordings of three successful CDs (Hungarian cello music, Arpeggione, Debussy/Poulenc).

Alexandre's adventurous approach to programming has resulted in a number of commissions and premières; he has toured extensively in Europe with his ‘Hommages à Rameau' and ‘Hommage à Couperin' programmes which feature works by the old masters interwoven with tributes by contemporary composers. May saw the premiere of Pianosong; a selection of contemporary works composed after popular songs from the 1960s-80s. He has also just premiered French composer Gérard Pesson’s new piano concerto, together with the Tonhalle.

Booklet for Pesson, Abrahamsen & Strasnoy: Piano Concertos