Composer Cycles

Cartas Celestes (Celestial Charts) is one of prolific Brazilian composer José Antônio Rezende de Almeida Prado’s most important achievements. Exploring every kind of resonance and sound the piano has to offer and using a new harmonic language called “transtonality”, this set of works is described by pianist Aleyson Scopel as “a heroically audacious cycle” that depicts the sky and constellations in “colours, light, darkness and an almost mythological understanding and approach to the universe”.

George Enescu was one of the most gifted musicians of the 20th century. His piano works are ruminative yet striking, illuminating the composer’s fascination with the folk music of his native Romania, but are also characterised by harmonic surprises, innovative techniques and insistent rhythms.

With its seemingly contradictory elements of lyricism and percussiveness, piano is the ideal medium for Glass’ musical language. Performed by Nicolas Horvath, a Scriabin Competition first prize winner, the complete Glass solo piano edition includes many premières.

This playlist compiles the best of ‘citizen of the world’ composer Alexander Tcherepnin’s piano works, taking us from some of his earliest works as a teenager, through to significant an intensely expressive compositions. The series performed by Giorgio Koukl has received much critical acclaim.