Avec Esprit: Gouvy, Mélan-Guéroult, Saint-Saens, Ysaye Tal & Groethuysen

• Louis Théodore Gouvy (1819 - 1898): Sonata for 2 Pianos in D Minor, Op. 66:
• 1 Gouvy: Sonata for 2 Pianos in D Minor, Op. 66: I. Largo maestoso - Allegro 09:05
• 2 Gouvy: Sonata for 2 Pianos in D Minor, Op. 66: II. Adagio cantabile 06:28
• 3 Gouvy: Sonata for 2 Pianos in D Minor, Op. 66: III. Allegro vivo 04:56
• Lilli Bulléro (Variations pour deux pianos sur un air anglais), Op.62:
• 4 Gouvy: Lilli Bulléro (Variations pour deux pianos sur un air anglais), Op.62 10:48
• Théo Ysaye (1865 - 1918): Variations for 2 Pianos in E Minor, Op. 10:
• 5 Ysaye: Variations for 2 Pianos in E Minor, Op. 10 13:52
• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921): Variations on a Theme of Beethoven in E-Flat Major, Op. 35:
• 6 Saint-Saëns: Variations on a Theme of Beethoven in E-Flat Major, Op. 35 18:16
• Marguerite Mélan-Guéroult: Tourbillon:
• 7 Mélan-Guéroult: Tourbillon 04:04
• Total Runtime 01:07:29

Info for Avec Esprit: Gouvy, Mélan-Guéroult, Saint-Saens, Ysaye

The piano works with which the multi-award-winning duo Yaara Tal & Andreas Groethuysen once again underline their flair for rarities that are absolutely worth hearing come from the Francophone world of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For the program "Avec esprit" the duo has selected pieces mainly by unknown composers, which were written between 1874 and 1910, and thus show a wide range of French high and late romantic music.

These include, for example, a sonata by Louis Théodore Gouvy, the Variations on Lilli Bulléro, based on an Irish folk song probably written in the 17th century. So is a variation work by Théophile Ysaÿe, brother of legendary violinist and composer Eugène Ysaÿe. Of course, the classic of the duo repertoire, the Beethoven Variations by Camille Saint-Saëns cannot be missed. They are based on a theme from Beethoven's Piano Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 31, No. 3.

This popular work is even followed by a world premiere recording! It is the lively character piece "Tourbillon" by pianist and composer Marguerite Mélan-Guéroult. The composer dedicated the onomatopoeic piece to her colleague Camille Saint-Saëns. Little is known about her, but this discovery certainly suggests that Marguerite Mélan-Guéroult had a firm place in Parisian musical life. A wonderful program à la française with a lot of esprit!

Duo Tal & Groethuysen

Yaara Tal & Andreas Groethuysen
The Israeli pianist Yaara Tal and her German partner Andreas Groethuysen are one of the world´s leading piano duos and perform regularly at such prominent venues as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Philharmonies Berlin, Cologne and Munich, Teatro alla Scala Milano, Musikhalle Hamburg, Hongkong Arts Festival, Lucerne Festival, Frick Collection New York, Forbidden City Concert Hall Peking, Piano-Festival La Roque d´Anthéron, Salzburger Festspiele, Musikverein Vienna, Tonhalle Zürich - to name only a few.

Besides an unsurpassed homogenity and spontanity in their playing, the duo displays great creativity in their recital programmes which feature unjustly neglected musical treasures in addition to the standard repertoire.

The exclusive cooperation with the record company SONY CLASSICAL makes up an important part of their international success: The Duo Tal & Groethuysen has released numerous recordings of piano music for four hands (largely world première recordings e.g. of pieces by Carl Czerny, Reinhard Febel, Theodore Gouvy, Charles Koechlin, Felix Mendelssohn, Max Reger, Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner) which have brought them great acclaim from critics and the public alike.

Their CD's have won the coveted “Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik” no less than nine times, while the German Phono Academy has awarded its “Echo Klassik”-Prize to five of their recordings, including the complete recordings of Schubert´s music for four hands and the complete Mozart piano duos. Other awards from outside Germany, such as the “Cannes Classical Award“,“Editor´s Choice“ by Gramophone and the “Supersonic Award“ reflect their high international reputation.

The latest releases included in 2013 'Götterdämmerung', with two-piano transcriptions of Wagner's operas ('Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik' 2013), in 2014 the double concerto by Mozart combined with the rarely performed concerto for four-hand piano and orchestra by Carl Czerny, and Rossini's 'Petite messe solennelle' together with the choir of the Bavarian Radio under Peter Dijkstra.

Booklet for Avec Esprit: Gouvy, Mélan-Guéroult, Saint-Saens, Ysaye