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Track(s) taken from CDA67806

Mazurka No 2 in C sharp minor

composer
circa 1860

Danny Driver (piano)
Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
CD-Quality:
Studio Master:
CD-Quality:
Studio Master:
Recording details: March 2010
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Keener
Engineered by Simon Eadon
Release date: February 2011
Total duration: 2 minutes 54 seconds

Cover artwork: Rainbow (1900-05). Arkhip Kuindzhi (1842-1910)
 

Reviews

‘Danny Driver continues his Hyperion exploration of the piano repertoire with delightful interpretations of Mily Balakirev. In particular, the piano sonata in B flat minor is a terrific, big-hearted piece, unlike anything else from its period, and its neglect in the concert hall is surely due a reappraisal … impressive playing throughout ensures that your finger won't stray far from the replay button’ (The Observer)

‘In the case of the Sonata, motifs of folk song add a distinctive tang to a work of unorthodox construction but fascinating originality. Bravo to Hyperion for championing this music and to Driver for playing it with such sensitivity, polish and élan’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘The three releases by the young British pianist Danny Driver have met with considerable acclaim. It's wonderful to see a talent such as this continuing to address the more obsure pianistic byways, and here Driver has assembled a fabulous array of works from Balakirev's very varied keyboard output … as ever, Hyperion provides recording quality and programme notes which are first class in every way’ (International Record Review)

‘Danny Driver's recordings of York Bowen for Hyperion have enjoyed critical success; here he shows himself a sterling interpreter of Russian repertoire … Driver is most attentive to the musics nuances. The Mazurka second movement is another of contrasts and he captures the dance element perfectly, revelling in sometimes extreme ornamentation … the recording is first class, with great presence’ (International Piano)

‘Young British pianist, Danny Driver, produces all the technical fireworks needed’ (Yorkshire Post)
Balakirev’s mazurkas are a good deal more demonstrative than any of Chopin’s. No 1 in A flat major (from the end of the 1850s), establishes a characteristic pattern for Balakirev in its trajectory from modest, folk-like beginnings to a fiery coda. No 2 in C sharp minor (c1860) is less developed, but still chunkily scored in its concluding repeated section.

from notes by David Fanning © 2011

Les mazurkas de Balakirev sont beaucoup plus démonstratives que celles de Chopin. La no 1 en la bémol majeur (à partir de la fin des années 1850) instaure un schéma de trajectoire propre à Balakirev, qui va de débuts modestes, folklorisants, à une fougueuse coda. La no 2 en ut dièse mineur (vers 1860) est moins développée mais conserve, dans sa section conclusive répétée, une écriture encore replète.

extrait des notes rédigées par David Fanning © 2011
Français: Hypérion

Balakirews Mazurken sind sehr viel weniger zurückhaltend als alle Werke dieses Genres von Chopin. Die Mazurka Nr. 1 in As-Dur (vom Ende der 1850iger Jahre) stellt in ihrer Überleitung von bescheidenen Folkloreanfängen zu einer feurigen Coda ein für Balakirew typisches Muster vor. Die Mazurka Nr. 2 in cis-Moll (ca. 1860) ist weniger entwickelt, doch im abschließend wiederholten Abschnitt ebenfalls grob unterteilt.

aus dem Begleittext von David Fanning © 2011
Deutsch: Henning Weber

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