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Track(s) taken from CDA67163

Ballada, Op 16

composer
1905

Artur Pizarro (piano)
Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
CD-Quality:
Studio Master:
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Studio Master:
Recording details: July 1999
Grande Auditório, Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal
Release date: October 2000
Total duration: 9 minutes 18 seconds
 

Reviews

‘A marvellously recorded programme … a joy to listen to’ (Gramophone)

‘To hear Pizarro is always a pleasure … lyrical phrasing wrapped in one of the most entrancing and expressive pianissimos of any pianist’ (International Record Review)

‘Pizarro gives the music exactly the full-bodied treatment [the piece] requires. A fine, satisfying disc, well worth exploring’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Pizarro performs prodigies in getting around these unfamiliar scores with hair-raising aplomb and the utmost conviction’ (International Piano)

'Goza, además, de una toma sonora espléndida' (Scherzo, Spain)
Vianna da Motta's Ballada Op 16—composed in 1905 and based on two popular Portuguese songs, ‘Tricana da Aldeia’ and an ‘Ave Maria’—is undoubtedly his most mature piano work. The first song is treated in variation form and the second serves as a peaceful coda to a dramatic and virtuosic work. This work is similar in form to Grieg’s Ballade in G minor, and it is interesting to note that in his book Meister des Klaviers Walter Niemann referred to Vianna da Motta as ‘the Portuguese Grieg’.

from notes by Artur Pizarro © 2000

La production du Vianna da Motta compositeur est, quant à elle, considérable. Sa pièce la plus célèbre, la Symphonie «À la patrie» («À Pátria»), composée en 1895, fut créée à Porto en 1897. Chacun de ses quatre mouvements est le reflet musical de poèmes de Luis de Camões. Composée en 1905 et fondée sur deux chansons populaires portugaises, «Tricana da Aldeia» et un «Ave Maria», sa Ballada op.16 est indéniablement son œuvre pour piano la plus aboutie. La première chanson est traitée sous forme de variation, cependant que la seconde sert de paisible coda à cette pièce dramatique et virtuose, dont la forme évoque la Ballade en sol mineur de Grieg—dans son livre Meister des Klaviers, Walter Niemann vit d’ailleurs en Vianna da Motta le «Grieg portugais».

extrait des notes rédigées par Artur Pizarro © 2000
Français: Hyperion Records Ltd

Die Ballada op. 16—1905 auf der Grundlage zweier beliebter portugiesischer Gesangsstücke komponiert, dem Lied „Tricana da Aldeia“ und einer Version des „Ave Maria“—ist zweifellos sein reifstes Werk für Klavier. Das Lied wird in Variationsform verarbeitet und das „Ave Maria“ dient als friedliche Coda einer dramatischen und virtuosen Komposition. Die Ballada ähnelt von der Form her Griegs Ballade in g-Moll, und es mag von Interesse sein, daß Walter Niemann in seinem Buch Meister des Klaviers Vianna da Motta als „portugiesischen Grieg“ bezeichnet.

aus dem Begleittext von Artur Pizarro © 2000
Deutsch: Anne Steeb/Bernd Müller

A sua Ballada Op 16—composta em 1905 e baseada em duas canções populares portuguesas, ‘Tricana da Aldeia’ e uma ‘Avé Maria’—é sem dúvida o seu trabalho mais maduro para piano. A primeira canção é tratada sob a forma de variação e a segunda serve de coda tranquila para uma obra dramática e virtuosa. Esta obra é semelhante na forma à Ballade em Sol menor de Grieg, e é interessante notar que no seu livro Meister des Klaviers Walter Niemann se refere a Vianna da Motta como ‘o Grieg português’.

Artur Pizarro © 2000

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