About this Release
“In the last volume of Tibor Harsányi's complete piano music I present his most important works, including his sonata Rhapsodie and the two burlesques. These are the most challenging pieces of his whole piano œuvre. My favourite composition is the short piece written for the album "Parc d'attractions Expo 1937 Paris" called Le tourbillon mécanique in which Harsányi describes a giant mechanical device, a sort of clock, whirling around with metallic precision (Track 17). Many other composers, like Martinů and A. Tcherepnin, whose music I previously recorded for Grand Piano, have contributed to this album, making it the culmination of years of research and work. It is truly a labour of love. As a reviewer remarked on an earlier volume, Harsányi's music is "always enjoyable, sometimes delightful and occasionally brilliant." I hope you also enjoy this music.” — Giorgio Koukl
HARSÁNYI, TIBOR (1898–1954)
Complete Piano Works • 3
- Giorgio Koukl, piano
Tibor Harsányi, a student of Zoltán Kodály at the Budapest Conservatory, lived in France from 1923 where he became one of the leading expatriate composers to form the group known as L’École de Paris. As the 4 Morceaux show, his piano music is notable for its variety of character and genre. The Piano Sonata reveals his enthusiasm for dance rhythms and for joyful lyricism as well as quietly sombre elements, while the Burlesques flirt with jazz. The Piano Suite conjures up a vivid series of atmospheres in a work that is songlike, dissonant and ambient.
This recording was made on a modern instrument: Steinway, Model D
Tracklist
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Piano Sonata (1926) (00:13:00 )
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1
I. Molto agitato (00:03:53)
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2
II. Lento (00:02:36)
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3
III. Allegretto scherzando (00:02:27)
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4
IV. Allegro giocoso (00:03:46)
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4 Morceaux (1924) (00:16:00 )
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5
No. 1. Prélude (00:02:40)
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6
No. 2. Serenade (00:07:30)
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7
No. 3. Air (00:02:39)
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8
No. 4. Danse (00:03:31)
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Petite Suite pour Enfants (1923) (00:11:00 )
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9
I. Prélude (00:02:01)
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10
II. Valsette (00:03:55)
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11
III. Minuetto (00:02:21)
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12
IV. Marche (00:03:02)
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Piano Suite (1930) (00:08:00 )
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13
I. Prélude (00:02:13)
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14
II. Romance (00:02:20)
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15
III. Intermezzo (00:01:55)
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16
IV. Nocturne (00:01:27)
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17
Parc d'Attractions Expo 1937: Le Tourbillon Mécanique (1937) (00:03:33)
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2 Burlesques (1927) (00:05:00 )
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18
No. 1. Con brio (00:02:34)
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19
No. 2. Animato (00:02:33)
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20
Novellette (1925) (00:06:34)
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21
Rhapsodie for Piano (1924) (00:05:51)
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3 Impromptus (1952) (00:10:00 )
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22
No. 1. Mouvement (00:03:18)
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23
No. 2. Flânerie (00:04:12)
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24
No. 3. Nocturne (00:02:31)
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The Artist(s)
Giorgio Koukl is a Czech pianist/harpsichordist and composer. He studied at both the Conservatories of Zürich and Milan, where he took part in the masterclasses of Nikita Magaloff, Jacques Février, and Stanislaus Neuhaus, and with Rudolf Firkušný, friend and advocate of Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů. It was through Firkušný that Koukl first encountered Martinů‘s music, and is now considered one of the world’s leading interpreters of Martinů’s piano music. As a logical continuation of this work, Koukl has recorded the complete solo piano works of Paul Le Flem, Alexander Tcherepnin, Arthur Lourié, Vítězslava Kaprálová, Witold Lutosławski, and more recently, Alexandre Tansman and Tibor Harsányi. The Composer(s)
Hungarian-born pianist, composer, conductor, and musicologist Tibor Harsányi was part of the lively Paris musical scene from 1923. He was a student of Kodály in Budapest, then travelled around Europe as a performer, settling briefly in Holland, where he worked as a conductor. Harsányi was a prolific composer of chamber music, solo piano works, and songs, as well as opera and ballet. Reviews
“The recording is wonderfully bright and the technician Lukas Fröhlich deserves credit for ensuring that the piano sounds so beautifully responsive to Koukl’s magic touch, as does engineer Michael Rast. Both of them have ensured the continuity of sound quality from the Steinway Model D over all three discs. The teamwork between these three - pianist, engineer and technician - is key in the production of an enjoyable disc, so thanks to them all.” – MusicWeb International
Also Available
Grand Piano has gained a reputation for producing high quality recordings of rare keyboard gems. Dedicated to the exploration of undiscovered piano repertoire, the label specialises in complete cycles of piano works by many lesser-known composers, whose output might otherwise have remained unknown and unrecorded.
- info@grandpianorecords.com
