Mihalovici : Piano Music

The ‘École de Paris’ was a group of composers from central and eastern Europe who made the French capital their home in the 1920s and ’30s. One of their number was the Romanian Marcel Mihalovici, born in Bucharest in 1898 and based in Paris from 1919 until his death in 1985 – one of the most significant of twentieth-century composers who has yet to receive the recognition he deserves. This first album dedicated to his piano music traces his stylistic evolution, the early blend of French insouciance, echoes of eastern European folk-music and Neo-Classical contrapuntal clarity gradually taking a tougher turn and blending Bartók and Bach. It ends with a monumental passacaglia for the left hand alone, one of the most daunting summits of the piano literature.

Matthew Rubenstein, piano

 

 

Sonatine, Op. 11 (1922-23)

  1. I Allegro moderato
  2. II Andante semplice
  3. III Toccata (Vivace)

Quatre Caprices, Op. 29 (1928)

  1. No. 1 Con eleganza
  2. No. 2 Mosso
  3. No. 3 Andantino e misterioso
  4. No. 4 Allegro furioso

Ricercari, Op. 46 (1941)

  1. Theme: Poco lento (tempo di passacaglia)
  2. Var. 1: Un poco più mosso
  3. Var. 2: Andante, non troppo
  4. Var. 3: Allegro ben ritmato
  5. Var. 4: Allegro giusto
  6. Var. 5: Lento sostenuto
  7. Var. 6: Leggiero, con moto
  8. Var. 7: Andantino
  9. Var. 8: Allegretto capriccioso, ma molto ritmato
  10. Var. 9: Molto vivace
  11. Fugue: Grave, più tosto moderato

Quatre Pastorales, Op. 62 (1950)

  1. No. 1 Andantino
  2. No. 2 Allegro
  3. No. 3 Lento
  4. No. 4 Allegro

Sonate, Op. 90 (1964)*

  1. I Allegretto piacevol
  2. II Lento improvisando – e sempre con un sentimento assai barocco
  3. III Allegro giacoso

Passacaille (pour la main gauche), Op. 105 (1975)

  1. Theme: Grave – Mesto
  2. Var. 1
  3. Var. 2
  4. Var. 3 Semplice
  5. Var. 4 Espressivo – sognando
  6. Var. 5 Più mosso
  7. Var. 6
  8. Var. 7 Tranquilo
  9. Var. 8
  10. Var. 9 Lento senza alcuna espressione
  11. Var. 10 Più animato
  12. Var. 11 Mosso subito – virtuoso
  13. Var. 12 Lento subito
  14. Var. 13 Stesso
  15. Var. 14 Vivo (con virtuosita)
  16. Var. 15 Meno
  17. Var. 16 Moderato pensieroso
  18. Var. 17 Calmo, sempre pensieroso
  19. Var. 18 Liberamente – quasi una cadenza