After his intoxicating evocation of Jazz Age Paris with Le Boeuf sur le toit, French pianist Alexandre Tharaud again proves that good things come in small packages. This enticing collection of encore pieces – some very popular, others exotic – ranges across more than four centuries and comprises both original scores and arrangements.
This new album contains 23 pieces that make perfect encores at the end of a recital. Reflecting Tharaud’s varied tastes in music, it comprises both original pieces and arrangements by composers from the 17th century to the present day.
Among the most popular pieces in the collection are Chopin’s delightful Minute Waltz (D-flat major, Op. 64, No. 1), Satie’s enigmatic Gymnopédie No 3, Greig’s joyous Wedding Day at Troldhaugen and Rachmaninov’s brooding Prelude in C sharp minor. The works adapted for piano include a version of Sibelius’ Valse triste, Saint-Saëns’ Le Cygne in a virtuosic re-imagining by Leopold Godowsky, and the haunting B minor transcription of Bach’s Prelude BWV 855a by Alexander Siloti, who was both Rachmaninov’s teacher and his first cousin; the piece is particularly closely identified with the great Odessa-born pianist Emil Gilels. Tharaud’s own skills as an arranger are shown in his versions of pieces by Bach and Bizet.
