To mark the 175th anniversary of Maurice Ravel's birth, the pianist and winner of the prestigious 2021 Géza Anda Competition Anton Gerzenberg pays tribute to the French sound magician and the musical reflections that radiate from Ravel's work or have an impact on it. With Ravel Reflections, he presents a debut album that not only highlights the composer's brilliance and complexity, but also reveals a wide network of references, inspirations and influences.
At the centre are two key works from Ravel's piano oeuvre: Gaspard de la Nuit (M. 55) – one of the most virtuosic and mysterious creations in piano literature – and the impressionistically sparkling Jeux d'eau (M. 30). While Gaspard de la Nuit explores the limits of pianistic expression with its three character pieces (Ondine, Le Gibet and Scarbo), Ravel created a revolutionary soundscape with Jeux d’eau that makes shimmering water droplets and iridescent light reflections musically tangible. This tableau is complemented by the Valses nobles et sentimentales (M. 61), in which Ravel takes up the great Viennese tradition, ironically breaks with it and translates it into a modernist language.
But Ravel Reflections goes far beyond a showcase of Ravel's works: the album highlights the composer's close connection to Franz Liszt, whose poetic piece Les jeux d'eau à la Villa d'Este from Années de Pèlerinage served as a model for Ravel's own Jeux d'eau. And with his oriental fantasy Islamey, Mily Balakirev had created a work in 1869 that was long considered the most difficult solo piece for piano ever written. According to his own statement, Maurice Ravel wanted to surpass this virtuosity with his three-part Gaspard de la nuit. Godowsky's Symphonic Metamorphoses on Strauss's Die Fledermaus conclude the album.
Anton Gerzenberg – Ravel Reflections
PROSP0130
