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Track(s) taken from CDA67331/2
Africa. Fantasie for piano and orchestra, Op 89
composer
Stephen Hough (piano), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo (conductor)
Recording details: September 2000
Symphony Hall, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Keener
Engineered by Tony Faulkner
Release date: September 2001
Total duration: 9 minutes 47 seconds
Symphony Hall, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Keener
Engineered by Tony Faulkner
Release date: September 2001
Total duration: 9 minutes 47 seconds
Reviews
'Marvellous performances, full of joy, vigour and sparkle. The recording is in the demonstration bracket and this Hyperion set includes no fewer than four encores. An easy first choice' (The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs)
'Superlative' (The Independent)
'Superb … Hough’s new set in Hyperion’s outstanding Romantic Piano Concerto series sweeps the board' (The Guardian)
'It is unalloyed pleasure to sit through all five at a sitting … the quite outstanding pianism of Stephen Hough makes this an unmissable addition to anyone remotely interested in the barnstorming, physically exhilarating concertos of the late nineteenth century' (International Record Review)
'A delightful set that does this underrated composer full credit' (Classic FM Magazine)
The majority of Saint-Saëns’s shorter concertante works – sixteen in all – are rarely performed. Of the four pieces for piano and orchestra the most colourful is the Fantasy Africa, begun in Cadiz in 1889 and completed in Cairo in 1891. In need of convalescence after serious illness and the death of his mother, Saint-Saëns embarked on a cruise which took him to Ceylon for nearly three months, and then, on the return journey, to Egypt. His study of North African folk music is reflected in this attractive pot-pourri, with its abundance of melodic material, much of it syncopated. The climax is based on a Tunisian folk-tune.
from notes by Phillip Borg-Wheeler © 2001
La plupart des pièces concertantes de moindres dimensions de Saint-Saëns (seize au total) sont rarement jouées. Des quatre pièces pour piano et orchestre, la plus colorée est la Fantaisie Africa, commencée à Cadix en 1889 et achevée au Caire en 1891. Pour se remettre d’une grave maladie et de la mort de sa mère, Saint-Saëns embarqua pour une croisière qui le mena à Ceylan, où il passa près de trois mois, puis en Égypte lors du voyage de retour. Son intérêt pour la musique populaire nord-africaine est reflété par ce séduisant pot-pourri, composé d’un abondant matériau mélodique souvent syncopé. Le point culminant est basé sur un air populaire tunisien.
extrait des notes rédigées par Phillip Borg-Wheeler © 2001
Français: Josée Bégaud
Die meisten der – insgesamt sechzehn – kürzeren konzertanten Werke von Saint-Saëns werden nur selten aufgeführt. Das klangvollste der vier Stücke für Klavier und Orchester ist die Fantasie Africa, die er 1889 in Cadiz begann und 1891 in Kairo vollendete. Da er nach einer ernsthaften Erkrankung und dem Tod seiner Mutter Erholung nötig hatte, unternahm Saint-Saëns eine Kreuzfahrt, die ihn für nahezu drei Monate auf die Insel Ceylon führte und dann auf der Rückreise nach Ägypten. Seine Beschäftigung mit der nordafrikanischen Volksmusik kommt in diesem reizvollen Potpourri zum Ausdruck, das eine Fülle überwiegend synkopierten melodischen Materials enthält. Der Höhepunkt stützt sich auf eine tunesische Volksweise.
aus dem Begleittext von Phillip Borg-Wheeler © 2001
Deutsch: Anne Steeb/Bernd Müller