Bach, Beethoven, Medtner Lucas Debargue

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750): Toccata in C Minor, BWV 911:
• 1 Toccata in C Minor, BWV 911: Toccata 03:35
• 2 Toccata in C Minor, BWV 911: Fugue 06:57
• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Sonata No. 7 in D Major, Op. 10, No. 3:
• 3 Sonata No. 7 in D Major, Op. 10, No. 3: I. Presto 07:13
• 4 Sonata No. 7 in D Major, Op. 10, No. 3: II. Largo e mesto 10:59
• 5 Sonata No. 7 in D Major, Op. 10, No. 3: III. Menuetto - Allegro - Trio 02:36
• 6 Sonata No. 7 in D Major, Op. 10, No. 3: IV. Rondo - Allegro 04:04
• Nikolai Medtner (1880 - 1951): Piano Sonata in F Minor, Op. 5:
• 7 Piano Sonata in F Minor, Op. 5: I. Allegro - Maestoso, ma a tempo - Alla breve 12:42
• 8 Piano Sonata in F Minor, Op. 5: II. Intermezzo - Allegro 05:51
• 9 Piano Sonata in F Minor, Op. 5: III. Largo divoto - Maestoso 08:49
• 10 Piano Sonata in F Minor, Op. 5: IV. Finale - Allegro risoluto 07:59
• Total Runtime 01:10:45

Info for Bach, Beethoven, Medtner

Gerade einmal vier Monate ist es her, dass der damals noch weitestgehend unbekannte Lucas Debargue sein Debüt präsentierte, auf dem er sich Werken von Scarlatti, Ravel, Chopin, Liszt, Schubert und Grieg widmet. Nur vier Monate später legt der junge virtuose Pianist aus Frankreich nach, diesmal mit Bach, Beethoven und Medtner.

Dabei handelt es sich um die erste reine Studioaufnahme Debargues und nicht, wie bei seinem gefeierten Vorgänger, um einen Livemitschnitt.

Der Titel verrät es bereits: Der Pianist interpretiert darauf sowohl legendäre Werke wie Bachs Toccata c-moll BWV 911 und Beethovens Sonate D-Dur op. 10 Nr. 3 als auch weniger bekannte Stücke. Im Mittelpunkt der Aufnahmen steht nämlich die erste Klaviersonate des russischen Komponisten Nikolai Karlowitsch Medtner.

Bereits vor einem Jahr sorgte Debargue mit seiner ganz eigenen Interpretation des Medtner-Stückes für Aufsehen beim renommierten internationalen Tschaikowsky-Wettbewerb in Moskau.

Was sich bereits bei seinem Debüt angekündigt hat, wird auf seinem zweiten Album noch einmal bestätigt: Lucas Debargue zählt zu den talentiertesten Pianisten seiner Zeit und zu den größten Hoffnungsträgern der klassischen Musik.

"Bachs c-Moll-Toccata zu Beginn kann als Muster einer nicht nur texttreuen, sondern rundum perfekten Darstellung bezeichnet werden. Sie ist nobel und geschliffen im Ton, optimal transparent in der polyphonen Stimmführung, lebendig in der Diktion und trotzdem vorbildlich ›rund‹ – ein echtes mediales Kabinettstückchen." (Fono Forum)

"[...] zeigt sich der junge Franzose als nachdenkender, introspektiver Musiker; sein Stil zeigt sich in farbenreicher Tongebung, geschmackvoller, schlanker Pedalisierung und daraus resultierend einer klaren Durchhörbarkeit selbst im Getümmel der virtuosen Passagen. Von diesem Künstler möchte ich mehr hören!" (Audio)

"Hier kommen Kraft des Spiels, technische Brillanz und die Liebe zum klanglichen Detail zusammen. Debargue setzt Spannung gegen Schönheit, [...]" (Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung)

Lucas Debargue, Klavier

Lucas Debargue
In 2015 the French pianist Lucas Debargue became the most talked-about artist of the 15th International Tchaikovsky Competition.

Despite being placed 4th, his muscular and intellectual playing, combined with an intensely poetic and lyrical gift for phrasing, earned him the coveted Moscow Music Critics’ Award as ”the pianist whose incredible gift, artistic vision and creative freedom have impressed the critics as well as the audience”. He was the only musician across all disciplines to do so. Soon after the competition Debargue was signed by Sony Classical, and recorded a live recital for his debut release with music by Ravel, Liszt, Chopin and Scarlatti in his native city of Paris.

Debargue was born in 1990 in a non-musical family. In 1999 he settled in Compiègne, about 90km north of Paris and began his initial piano studies at the local music school at the age of 11.

At 15 Debargue ceased piano studies having found no musical mentor to help him share his passion with others and having become frustrated at playing solely for himself. He began to work, successfully for his Baccalaureate at a local college and joined a rock band. At 17 he relocated to the capital to study for a degree in Arts and Literature at Paris Diderot University and, remarkably, ceased playing the piano altogether for three years.

In 2010 he was asked to play at the Fête de la Musique festival in Compiègne, and this marked his return to the keyboard. Shortly after he was put in touch with his current mentor and guide, the celebrated Russian professor Rena Shereshevskaya, who is based at both the Rueil-Malmaison Conservatory and the École Normale de Musique de Paris ‘Alfred Cortot’. Seeing in Debargue a future as a great interpreter, Professor Shereshevskaya admitted him into her class at the Cortot School to prepare him for grand international competitions. It was at the age of 20 when Debargue started formal piano training.

Only four years later he entered the Tchaikovsky Competition in 2015, and the world instantly took note of a startling and original new talent. “There hasn’t been a foreign pianist who has caused such a stir since Glenn Gould’s arrival in Moscow, or Van Cliburn’s victory at the Tchaikovsky Competition,” said The Huffington Post.

A performer of fierce integrity and dazzling communicative power, Debargue draws inspiration for his playing from many disciplines, including literature, painting, cinema and jazz. The core piano repertoire is central to his career, but he is also keen to present works by lesser-known composers such as Nikolai Medtner, Samuel Maykapar and Nikolai Roslavets.

Booklet for Bach, Beethoven, Medtner