Debussy: Etudes, Martyre de saint Sébastien Philippe Bianconi

• Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918): 12 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 1:
• 1 12 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 1: I. Pour les "cinq doigts", d'après Monsieur Czerny 03:17
• 2 12 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 1: II. Pour les tierces. Moderato ma non troppo 03:38
• 3 12 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 1: III. Pour les quartes. Andantino con moto 05:06
• 4 12 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 1: IV. Pour les sixtes. Lento 04:13
• 5 12 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 1: V. Pour les octaves. Joyeux et emporté, librement rythmé 02:54
• 6 12 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 1: VI. Pour les huit doigts. Vivamente, molto leggiero e legato 01:49
• 12 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 2:
• 7 12 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 2: VII. Pour les degrés chromatiques. Scherzando, animato assai 02:23
• 8 12 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 2: VIII. Pour les agréments. Lento, rubato e leggiero 05:22
• 9 12 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 2: IX. Pour les notes répétées. Scherzando 03:28
• 10 12 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 2: X. Pour les sonorités opposées. Modéré, sans lenteur 05:25
• 11 12 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 2: XI. Pour les arpèges composés 04:54
• 12 12 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 2: XII. Pour les accords. Décidé, rythmé, sans lourdeur 04:54
• Claude Debussy:
• 13 Élégie, L. 138 02:21
• Le Martyre de saint Sébastien, L. 124:
• 14 Le Martyre de saint Sébastien, L. 124: I. La Cour des Lys. Prélude (transcription André Caplet) 03:59
• 15 Le Martyre de saint Sébastien, L. 124: II. Danse extatique (transcription André Caplet) 02:57
• 16 Le Martyre de saint Sébastien, L. 124: III. La Chambre magique (transcription André Caplet) 03:10
• 17 Le Martyre de saint Sébastien, L. 124: IV. La Passion (transcription André Caplet) 04:07
• 18 Le Martyre de saint Sébastien, L. 124: V. Le Laurier blessé (transcription André Caplet) 02:18
• 19 Le Martyre de saint Sébastien, L. 124: VI. Le Bon Pasteur (transcription André Caplet) 02:37
• Claude Debussy:
• 20 Les Soirs illuminés par l'ardeur du charbon, CD. 150 02:25
• Total Runtime 01:11:17

Info for Debussy: Etudes, Martyre de saint Sébastien

Philippe Bianconi offers from these late but essential pages a clear and limpid reading, served by a remarkable energy. Beyond their formidable technical challenge, even experimental, the Etudes - dedicated to Chopin, whom Debussy revered - reveal themselves under his fingers, poetry, rhythm and colour.

As a complement to the programme, the two final pieces of his work, as well as those of the suite from the Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, show a different face of Debussy, spiritual, stripped and poignant.

Philippe Bianconi, piano

Philippe Bianconi
Since winning at the Van Cliburn International Competition in the 1980s, Philippe Bianconi has been leading an international career, pursuing his musical itinerary and patiently carving out his path far from the media hype.

He has been hailed in the press for playing that is 'always close to the soul of the music, filling the space with poetry and life' (Washington Post), for 'his lyricism and his lofty vision . . . powerful playing that makes the piano sing even in forceful virtuoso passages . . . a very colourful sound' (Le Figaro), and '[an] extraordinary exhibition of musicianship and technical control [that] lends the music a freshness, immediacy and conviction one all too seldom encounters' (The Times).

A pupil of Simone Delbert-Février at the Conservatoire in Nice, where he was born, Philippe Bianconi is the only major French pianist to have entered the international competition circuit without previously studying at the Paris Conservatoire. His prizes at the Jeunesses Musicales International Competition in Belgrade, the Robert Casadesus International Competition in Cleveland, and notably the Van Cliburn Competition were his launching pads for a brilliant career in North America. He appeared at Carnegie Hall in New York in 1987, and went on play with many of the leading North American orchestras, including Cleveland, Chicago, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Montreal. His career then took on a worldwide dimension, and from Berlin to Sydney, Beijing to London, Paris to San Francisco, he has received high praise for the poetry of his playing and the beauty of his tone.

Philippe Bianconi is an enthusiastic chamber musician, and plays with numerous prestigious partners. His love of the voice is reflected in his recordings of the three great Schubert song cycles, Die schöne Müllerin, Winterreise, and Schwanengesang, with the baritone Hermann Prey.

The release of his disc of Debussy's Préludes on La Dolce Volta was one of the major recording events of the year 2012, winning a deluge of international distinctions and a nomination at the Victoires de la Musique Classique in the category 'Recording of the Year'.

Since 2014 Philippe Bianconi has been musical director of the American Conservatory of Fontainebleau (part of the Fontainebleau Schools, a French institution whose mission is to give foreign students a thorough grounding in French culture in the twin spheres of music and architecture), after such distinguished predecessors as Philippe Entremont and Nadia Boulanger, who trained the elite of American composers, among them Aaron Copland, Elliot Carter, Virgil Thomson, Astor Piazzolla, Philip Glass, and Quincy Jones.

Booklet for Debussy: Etudes, Martyre de saint Sébastien