Debussy – Ravel Roger Benedict & Simon Tedeschi

• Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918): 4 Préludes:
• 1 Debussy: 4 Préludes: I. La puerta del vino, L. 123 No. 3 (Arr. for Viola and Piano by Roger Benedict) 04:07
• 2 Debussy: 4 Préludes: II. Des pas sur la neige, L. 117 No. 6 (Arr. for Viola and Piano by Roger Benedict) 04:22
• 3 Debussy: 4 Préludes: III. La Fille aux cheveux de lin, L. 117 No. 8 (Arr. for Viola and Piano by Roger Benedict) 02:47
• 4 Debussy: 4 Préludes: IV. Général Lavine – eccentric, L. 123 No. 6 (Arr. for Viola and Piano by Roger Benedict) 02:51
• Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937): Pièce en forme de Habanera, M. 8 (Arr. for Viola and Piano by Paul-Louis Neuberth):
• 5 Ravel: Pièce en forme de Habanera, M. 8 (Arr. for Viola and Piano by Paul-Louis Neuberth) 03:35
• Deux mélodies hébraïques, M. 22:
• 6 Ravel: Deux mélodies hébraïques, M. 22: I. Kaddisch (Arr. for Viola and Piano by Roger Benedict) 05:19
• Sonatine pour le piano, M. 40:
• 7 Ravel: Sonatine pour le piano, M. 40: I. Modéré 05:00
• 8 Ravel: Sonatine pour le piano, M. 40: II. Mouvement de menuet 03:48
• 9 Ravel: Sonatine pour le piano, M. 40: III. Animé 04:03
• Sonate posthume, M. 12 (Arr. for Viola and Piano by Roger Benedict):
• 10 Ravel: Sonate posthume, M. 12 (Arr. for Viola and Piano by Roger Benedict) 15:27
• Claude Debussy: Cello Sonata, L. 135:
• 11 Debussy: Cello Sonata, L. 135: I. Prologue (Lent, sostenuto e molto risoluto) (Arr. for viola and piano by Roger Benedict) 04:31
• 12 Debussy: Cello Sonata, L. 135: II. Sérénade (Modérément animé) (Arr. for Viola and Piano by Roger Benedict) 03:19
• 13 Debussy: Cello Sonata, L. 135: III. Finale (Animé, léger et nerveux) (Arr. for Viola and Piano by Roger Benedict) 03:33
• Total Runtime 01:02:42

Info for Debussy – Ravel

Following on from their highly successful disc ‘A Winter’s Tale’, viola virtuoso Roger Benedict and renowned pianist Simon Tedeschi present a new studio album reimagining masterpieces by Debussy and Ravel for the rich, mellow tone of the viola – the ‘melancholy dreamer’, as Berlioz described it. With its wistful sound, the viola gives a new and fresh character to these pieces, which, even now, seem radical in their conception.

The album opens with Benedict’s arrangements of four of Debussy’s evocative Préludes, and closes with the composer’s kaleidoscopic Cello Sonata. In between, we hear viola arrangements of Ravel’s lyrical Violin Sonata – a youthful work, left unpublished at his death – as well as his sensual Piece in the form of a Habanera and the soulful, melancholy Kaddisch, with the viola singing the hauntingly beautiful melodic line. The album also features Ravel’s radiant Sonatine in its original version for solo piano.

Roger Benedict, viola
Simon Tedeschi, piano

Roger Benedict
Roger’s career has encompassed work as a conductor, soloist, orchestral player, chamber musician and teacher. From 1991 -2000 principal viola in the Philharmonia Orchestra, London, and following that the same position in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, since 2002 Roger has been Artistic Director of the Sydney Symphony’s acclaimed Fellowship Program. At the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where he is an Associate Professor, Roger is Chief Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra and also heads the viola department.

As a viola soloist he has appeared with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Ulster Orchestra in the UK as well as the Sydney Symphony, Canberra Symphony, New Zealand Symphony and the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa (Japan). He has given solo recitals at venues including London’s Wigmore Hall and Southbank Centre, and at major International festivals.

Roger Benedict’s debut recital CD Volupté (Melba), featuring music by Charles Koechlin and Joseph Jongen, was selected as one of the 10 best recordings of 2010 by www.theclassicalreview.com. His recording of Vaughan Williams’ Flos Campi with the Sydney Symphony was released in 2011, and a disc of music by Hans Gál and Ernst Krenek (Voices in the Wilderness) in 2014, also on the Melba label. His latest recording, A Winter’s Tale, featuring music by Schubert and Schumann with pianist Simon Tedeschi, was released in 2018 on ABC Classics. A new recording for ABC Classics of music by Debussy and Ravel is due for release in late 2021.

A frequent guest conductor with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Roger has conducted the orchestra in subscription concerts at the Sydney Opera House, at City Recital Hall and in regional centres. He has been invited to appear as a conductor with other orchestras in the region including the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and in the UK with the Southbank Sinfonia. A devoted orchestral trainer, he has coached the European Union Youth Orchestra since 2000, and is a frequent conductor of Australian Youth Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra (UK) programs.

Roger has gained admiration for his dedication to outreach and community work – for example through presenting concerts and workshops in schools, prisons and corporate settings, and through organizing major fundraising concerts for charitable causes.

Roger is active as an arranger and editor. His publications for Partitura-Verlag include arrangements of Schubert, Mozart and Debussy, and a popular viola scale method, Scale Up!

Simon Tedeschi
is one of Australia’s most renowned classical pianists, recipient of prizes such as Symphony Australia’s Young Performer of the Year Award, the Legacy Award from the Creativity Foundation (USA), first prize in the Keyboard division of the Royal Overseas League Competition (UK), and a Centenary of Federation Medal. He has performed in major concert halls and for festivals throughout Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia, and for world leaders including former US President George W. Bush and the Dalai Lama.

As a writer, he has written for a number of publications, including Seizure Magazine, Art Edit Magazine, SBS Feast Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald and many others. In 2022, Simon’s first book, Fugitive, will be released by Upswell. In May of the same year, Tedeschi was awarded the Calibre Prize (Australian Book Review) for his essay ‘This woman my grandmother’.

Acclaimed by respected critics and peers as “True greatness” (Sydney Morning Herald), Simon Tedeschi performed his first Mozart piano concerto in the Sydney Opera House at age nine. Based in the USA for several years courtesy of the American Australian Association and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust, in 2009 Tedeschi performed in Carnegie Hall, won the ‘New York Young Jewish Pianist Award’ and performed as soloist with the Colorado, Fort Worth and Illinois Symphony Orchestras (USA).

Tedeschi performs as soloist with all the major Australian orchestras as well as Christchurch Symphony Orchestra (New Zealand), and with classical chamber and jazz collaborators in leading festivals, venues and concert series including the Abu Dhabi International Arts Festival, Shanghai Arts Festival, Sydney, Brisbane and Fremantle Festivals, for Sydney Opera House’ Utzon Music Series, Musica Viva, UKARIA Cultural Centre (Adelaide) and Perth Theatre Trust.

A seasoned collaborator and chamber musician, Tedeschi also performs with SSO Concertmaster Andrew Haveron, flautist Sally Walker and with jazz pianist Kevin Hunt.

This album contains no booklet.