Del Valle Two Piano Concertos

Name: Del Valle Two Piano Concertos
SKU: 42485
Availability: InStock

Poulenc Concerto for Two Pianos (Imov. select)

14,95€

The two most important concertos for two pianos and orchestra in the entire repertoire. Performed by the famous spanish pianist Duo del Valle, winners of the ARD Prize in Munich, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León and Pablo González, conductor.

BOOKLET

14,95€

Categorías: Duo Del Valle, PIANIST Etiquetas: Novedad Piano

Descripción

Mozart · Poulenc Two Piano

On January 15, 1779, Wolfgang returned to Salzburg after an 18-month journey that had been marked by the loss of his mother in Paris in July 1778 (Paris again!). Leopold and Nannerl had stayed behind, with Nannerl reportedly grief-stricken (according to notes by her father). It’s unclear how Wolfgang felt at the time, as he approached his 23rd birthday and returned home to write a new keyboard work under such circumstances. However, he expressed a clear desire to perform it with his sister, hence the choice of two pianos alongside the orchestra. Perhaps he recalled the Concerto for Three Pianos from 1777, but it’s evident that his Parisian experiences also played a role. The Concerto, now cataloged as KV 365/316a, reflects the spirit of the symphonie concertante, a popular genre in the French capital.

The work is set in E-flat major, the same key as his Sinfonia Concertante for Winds, composed in Paris the previous April. The two pianos engage in a balanced dialogue, free of contrapuntal complexity, echoing and accompanying one another alternately with grace and elegance. This unity is underscored by their opening trill in unison, mirroring the orchestra’s majestic unison introduction of the two main themes in the opening Allegro. The concerto is lighthearted and agile, drawing on the galant style. The Andante in B-flat major, dominated by the soloists, takes on a pastoral character. In the closing Rondo, the pianos complement and intertwine with clever interplay, as though engaged in a lively conversation. They repeat the main theme with conviction while using the intervening episodes for imaginative and virtuosic explorations.

Mozart performed the concerto again in Vienna in 1781, this time with Josefa Aurnhammer, expanding the orchestra by adding clarinets, trumpets, and timpani to the original ensemble, which included two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, and strings. This expanded version is the one featured in this recording.

Poulenc received the commission for his Concerto for Two Pianos in the spring of 1932. He composed it over the summer, and it premiered on September 5 at the Venice Festival, with the La Scala Orchestra of Milan conducted by Désiré Defauw. Poulenc and his friend Jacques Février played as soloists. Among the notable attendees were fellow musicians like Arthur Rubinstein and Manuel de Falla, who had traveled to Venice to present his Retablo. Poulenc was not entirely pleased with the initial performance, feeling that an overly virtuosic interpretation had overshadowed “the poetry of the piece”, as he wrote to André Schaeffner.

Composed in D minor, the concerto reflects the trends of the time, blending neoclassical elements with jazz influences and touches of Balinese gamelan, which Poulenc had encountered the previous year. The opening Allegro ma non troppo is the most distinctive section, beginning with a torrent of two fortissimo chords in the home key before unfolding into a virtuosic tripartite toccata. Gamelan-like patterns abound, with the soloists leaning heavily on the percussion section. Unexpectedly, the movement concludes with a coda Poulenc considered one of his greatest achievements. Marked Très calme, it is built around the first six notes of the slow movement from Ravel’s Concerto in G, premiered earlier that year in January. In a letter to Igor Markevitch, Poulenc admitted, “Do you want to know what I had on my piano during the two months I was composing the concerto? Mozart’s concertos, Liszt, Ravel, and your Partita” (Markevitch’s Partita for Piano and Orchestra had also been commissioned by Polignac and premiered in 1930).

The Larghetto takes Mozart as its model. “I prefer Mozart to all other musicians”, Poulenc told Claude Rostand in an interview at the time. The movement clearly evokes Mozart’s piano concertos No. 20, 21, and 26 and is structured in a tripartite (ABA) form. Its central section leans toward a Saint-Saëns-like romanticism. The closing Rondo is deliberately wild and irreverent, even “in bad taste” (Henri Hell’s words in his 1970s monograph on Poulenc). It incorporates elements from music hall traditions and jazz filtered through a Gershwin-esque lens.

This timely work seems to mark the end of an era in Poulenc’s career, as he was about to turn to a more austere and even ascetic compositional style. Nevertheless, this “new Poulenc” never fully abandoned his more jovial, carefree, and playful side, as evidenced by two brief works from 1951 and 1952 that round out this recording.

DUO DEl VALLE

Since they won Top Prize and Special Audience Prize in the 54th ARD International Music Competition (Munich, 2005), Víctor and Luis del Valle (Vélez-Málaga, Spain) have soon been acclaimed as one of Europe’s most distinguished chamber music ensembles. They have also been awarded the Silver Medal in the “Primer Palau programme” (Palau de la Música de Cataluña. Barcelona, 2005). They have been Winners in the “Musiques d”Ensemble 2008” Competition (Paris), “Special Audience Prize” in the XI Dranoff International Two Piano Competition (Miami) and Winners and Special Prize to the best Mozart performance in the IV International Piano Duo Competition of Bialystok (Poland, 2008). In April 2011, they have been awarded the Audience Prize in the XXI Central European Music Festival (Zilina, Slovakia), where most of the winners of outstanding music competitions took part (Queen Elisabeth Competiton, Tchaikovsky Competition, ARD…).

Their activities include performances in the Auditorio Nacional, the Monumental Theater (Madrid), the Maestranza Theater (Sevilla), Palau de la Música, Auditori and the Gran Teatre del Liceu (Barcelona), Palacio de Festivales (Santander), Cervantes Theater (Málaga), Auditorium Dom Musiki (Moscow), Herkulessaal, Prinzregententheater and Gasteig (Munich), Liederhalle (Stuttgart), Congress Centrum (Hannover), Theatre des bouffes du Nord (Paris), Teatro Nacional (Panamá), Teatro Metropolitano in Medellín (Colombia), Sibelius Academy Concert Hall, Finlandia Hall and Finnish National Opera (Helsinki), Estonia Konsertdisaal (Tallinn)… Amongst their performances, they have played with the RTVE Orchestra, the Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla, l”Orquestra Nacional de Cambra d”Andorra, Jove Orquestra Nacional de Catalunya (JONC), “Siemens Chamber Orchestra” of the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia and the Orquesta Filharmonía de Galicia, Bialystok Philharmonic, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Munchener Kammerorchester, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Helsinki Philharmonic, conducted by Bogdan Oledski, Howard Griffiths, James Ross, Miquel Ortega, Ralf Gothoni, Manuel Valdivieso, Peter Csaba, Juanjo Mena, Yakov Kreizberg, André de Ridder, Guillermo García Calvo, Antoni Ros Marbà, Okko Kamu… Brothers Víctor and Luis del Valle have made a recording of music by spanish composer Tomás Marco in collaboration with the Málaga Philharmonic Orchestra. They have also recorded unknown works by the Galician composer José Arriola with the orchestra Real Filharmonía de Galicia, released by the label Brilliant.

Furthermore, they have made recordings for TVE (National Spanish Television), RNE (National Radio from Spain) “Radio Clásica”, BR (Bavarian Radio), SWR (Sud West Radio), Rádio Klasika (Slovakia) and for the recording company SONY MUSIC-Spain. Their new CD “Impulse”, released by IBS CLASSICAL and acclaimed by critics and public, has received awards from the most important specialist magazines in Spain (Scherzo and Melómano). Involved in the approach of classical music to the general public, the Del Valle Duo created in 2014, with the andalousian singer Pasión Vega, the show “2 Pianos con Pasión”, a music-theater fusion that was performed with great success on a tour throughout the Spanish geography enjoyed by more than 40.000 spectators. The duo has been described by musical critics as “a prodigy”, “audible beauty, virtuosity…in their exceptional innovation of piano skill” (El País, Spanish newspaper). “Brothers Luis and Víctor del Valle, with Ravel”s “Valse”, “broke” the sound barrier, achieving magical tones.” (Alerta, Spanish newspaper); “…splendid and masterful virtuosity, unprecedented risk, exceptional style become one in these two musicians… One hears works of Mozart very few times in such a convincing way” (Stuttgarter Zeitung); “…they made two pianos sound like the Wiener Philharmoniker” (Panamá América- Epasa); “… these magnificent pianists respect styles and techniques, and they also show clearly and strongly their own young voice, daring, full of life and humour, expressive and musical to the utmost.” (La Provincia. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria newspaper).

Víctor and Luis del Valle began working as a piano duo at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía under the tuition of Dimitri Bashkirov and Claudio Martínez Mehner. They continued their chamber music education with professors Márta Gulyás, Eldar Nebolsin and Ralf Gothóni, always with the support of Fundación Málaga. They have taken counsel from Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Katia & Marielle Labèque, Ferenc Rados, Menahem Pressler, Zoltán Kocsis, Daniel Barenboim and Martha Argerich. At present, Víctor and Luis combine their artistic activities with their teaching career in Madrid and Málaga. They are both frequently invited to give piano and chamber music master classes in Spain as well as abroad. The “Instituto Andaluz de la Juventud” (Andalusian Board for Youth) from the “Junta de Andalucía” (Andalusian Government) has awarded them with the Distinction “Premio Málaga Joven” for promoting Málaga abroad. In addition, their hometown, Vélez-Málaga, has honored them with the distinction “Escudo de Oro” for their artistic career.

OSCyL

The Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León (OSCyL)

is a project of the regional government of Castilla y León. It gave its first performance in September 1991 and has since positioned itself as one of the most prestigious symphonic institutions in the Spanish national scene. Since 2007, it has been based at the Miguel Delibes Cultural Centre in Valladolid, and as of the 2022-23 season, Thierry Fischer is its Music Director. Maestros Vasily Petrenko and Elim Chan are Conductors-in-Association, and the orchestra annually presents artistic residencies with eclectic profiles. Max Bragado-Darman, Alejandro Posada, Lionel Bringuier, and Andrew Gourlay were previously Music Directors. With a strong commitment to the entire territory of Castilla y León, the orchestra regularly performs in each of its provinces, as well as in the main concert halls and festivals in Spain. Internationally, it has performed in Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Norway, India, Oman, and the United States, including venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Carnegie Hall in New York. OSCyL collaborates with many of the most renowned soloists and conductors today and has commissioned numerous works, performed premieres, and rediscovered neglected repertoire.

Its discography reflects this mission, including releases with labels such as Deutsche Grammophon, Bis, Naxos, Tritó, and Verso, in addition to its own productions. OSCyL takes pride in its social and educational work. Among its more than three thousand five hundred annual subscribers, over a thousand come from more than twenty towns in Castilla y León, thanks to a bus service provided by the orchestra to promote accessibility throughout its extensive territory. It actively coordinates and participates in the “Miradas” program (in collaboration with schools at risk of social exclusion, special education centres, and multiple charities). It presents concerts for students and families, as well as concerts in collaboration with amateur choirs, and performs in non-classical settings. OSCyL conducts significant educational activities within its subscription season, also hosting open rehearsals and music workshops for early childhood. Notably, within its educational work, it highlights its efforts with “OSCyL Joven,” aimed at promoting the talent of the new generations in Castilla y León. This youth orchestra fosters social spirit through volunteerism and works with its titled conductors, other top international guests, and, above all, the members of the orchestra’s permanent roster, thereby nurturing the talent of future generations from the heart of this ensemble.

PABLO GONZÁLEZ

Recognized as one of the most versatile and passionate conductors of his generation, Pablo González inspires both orchestras and audiences worldwide. Described as “attentive to every silence and cue from the entire symphonic orchestra, weaving and bringing order to this tonal revolution” (OperaWorld), his artistry leaves a lasting impression wherever he performs. He has served as Chief Conductor of the Spanish Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra and Choir (2019–2023) and of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and Catalonia National Orchestra (2010–2015). He has also been Principal Guest Conductor of the Granada City Orchestra and Assistant Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. Recent and upcoming engagements include performances with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, The Hallé, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Dresden Philharmonic, Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, Strasbourg Philharmonic, Orchestre National d’Île-de-France, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Residentie Orkest, Liège Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Mexican National Symphony Orchestra, Buenos Aires Philharmonic, and many others. In Spain, he enjoys close relationships with major national orchestras, frequently appearing at renowned international festivals alongside them. As an opera conductor, González has led celebrated productions of Don Giovanni and L’elisir d’amore during successful Glyndebourne Tours, Carmen (San Sebastián Musical Fortnight), Una voce in off, La voix humaine, Die Zauberflöte, Daphne, and Rienzi at the Gran Teatre del Liceu (Barcelona), as well as Tosca and Madama Butterfly at the Oviedo Opera. He has collaborated with eminent soloists, including Maxim Vengerov, Nikolai Lugansky, Javier Perianes, Khatia Buniatishvili, Beatrice Rana, Renaud Capuçon, Gautier Capuçon, Sol Gabetta, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Isabelle Faust, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Arcadi Volodos, Viktoria Mullova, Johannes Moser, Truls Mørk, and Viviane Hagner. Among his notable recordings are a three-volume series dedicated to the works of Enrique Granados and a CD featuring the Carmen and L’Arlésienne suites by Bizet, recorded with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra for the Naxos label. Pablo González maintains a long-standing collaboration with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern (DRP), with whom he will soon release a recording of music by Emanuel Moor. His recording of Schumann with Lena Neudauer earned the prestigious International Classical Music Award. Born in Oviedo, Spain, Pablo González studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. He currently resides in his hometown of Oviedo.