Benjamin Grosvenor – DANCES
Isaac Albéniz (1860 – 1909): Tango Op. 165 No.2; ; J.S. Bach (1685 – 1750): Partita No.4 in D , BWV 828; Frédéric Chopin (1810 – 1849): Andante spianato and Grande polonaise in E flat, Op.22; Morton Gould (1913 – 1996): Boogie Woogie Etude; Enrique Granados (1867 – 1916): Valses Poéticos; Andrey Schulz-Evler (1854 – 1905): An die schönen Blauen Donau – concert arabesques after a waltz by J. Strauss jr.; Alexander Scriabin (1872 – 1915): 10 Mazurkas, Op.3 (1889)
Benjamin Grosvenor, piano
Decca 0289 478 5334 3 (Aug. 2014)
“Dances” is a dazzling display of solo works for piano from Bach to Boogie Woogie; via Chopin, Granados, Albeniz, Scriabin and the Blue Danube. For his second solo album on Decca, Benjamin Grosvenor has assembled a typically imaginative and appealing programme of piano music inspired by the dance form.
Shining the spotlight on the music of movement, this album was inspired by a letter from the great pianist-composer Ferruccio Busoni to his pupil Egon Petri proposing a “dance programme” as a theme for Petri’s recitals, a concept Grosvenor expanded on for his Queen Elizabeth Hall debut recital in 2012.
A former Gramophone Young Artist of the Year, Grosvenor will appearing at two BBC Proms in 2014 with a performance of Chopin’s First Piano Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra (8th August), followed by a solo recital at Cadogan Hall (1st Sep). In 2011, he was awarded the honour of opening the BBC Proms Concerts season and the youngest-ever soloist to perform on the ‘First Night’.—from www.amazon.co.uk
In his review for Gramophone, Bryce Morrison writes “This is a disc to prompt wonder and delight in equal measure,” and goes to tie each one of the dances performed by Grosvenor back to Chopin, despite their disparate composers and eras. For more reviews and information, visit www.deccaclassics.com.
[Sources: gramophone.co.uk, deccaclassics.com]