Born in Monaco Slava Guerchovitch

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750): Capriccio in B-flat major ‘sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettissimo’, BWV 992:
• 1 Bach: Capriccio in B-flat major ‘sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettissimo’, BWV 992: I. Arioso - Adagio. Ist eine Schmeichelung der Freunde, um denselben von seiner Reise abzuhalten 02:44
• 2 Bach: Capriccio in B-flat major ‘sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettissimo’, BWV 992: II. Ist eine Vorstellung unterschiedlicher Casuum, die ihm in der Fremde könnten vorfallen 02:11
• 3 Bach: Capriccio in B-flat major ‘sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettissimo’, BWV 992: III. Adagiosissimo - Ist ein allgemeines Lamento der Freunde 04:00
• 4 Bach: Capriccio in B-flat major ‘sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettissimo’, BWV 992: IV. Allhier kommen die Freunde (weil sie doch sehen, daß es anders nicht sein kann) und nehmen Abschied 00:37
• 5 Bach: Capriccio in B-flat major ‘sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettissimo’, BWV 992: V. Aria di Postiglione - Allegro poco 01:25
• 6 Bach: Capriccio in B-flat major ‘sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettissimo’, BWV 992: VI. Fuga all’imitazione di Posta 02:37
• Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937): Le Tombeau de Couperin, M. 68:
• 7 Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin, M. 68: I. Prélude 03:20
• 8 Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin, M. 68: II. Fugue 04:21
• 9 Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin, M. 68: III. Forlane 06:50
• 10 Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin, M. 68: IV. Rigaudon 03:29
• 11 Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin, M. 68: V. Menuet 05:03
• 12 Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin, M. 68: VI. Toccata 04:46
• Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886): Après une lecture du Dante, Fantasia Quasi Sonata, S.161/7:
• 13 Liszt: Après une lecture du Dante, Fantasia Quasi Sonata, S.161/7 20:12
• Total Runtime 01:01:35

Info for Born in Monaco

In an album that reflects on both home and journeying, Slava Guerchovitch explores his roots and the intricate network of relationships connecting his chosen repertoire. These intimate and beautiful pieces by J.S. Bach, Ravel and Liszt are works with which Slava has a particular affinity and history: Bach's almost improvisatoryCapriccio for the departure of the beloved brother, BWV 992; Ravel's subtle yet profoundly movingLe Tombeau de Couperin, and Liszt's passionate Dante Sonata. They are Slava's talismans and have stayed with him across his career to date, resulting in characterful and deeply-felt interpretations.

Slava Guerchovitch wasBorn in Monaco, and just as his homeland became a point of departure for the journeys that followed, so the repertoire on this album represents a series of departures from different angles and with different meanings. Bach describes the departure of his older brother to a new life in Sweden; Ravel mourns the departure of his friends who died in the middle of the First World War; and Liszt evokes Dante and the loss of his muse Beatrice.

As the pianist explains in the Artist Statement, a feature of Odradek album booklets: "The journey of Bach's older brother to Sweden reminds me of my older brother David's journey from home for higher education in Germany, especially since the honour guard in which Johann Jakob was enrolled is traveling to Russia (my family's original home country), hence the use of the Russian folk theme 'Ah you, inner porch' by J.S. Bach in the last movement of hisCapriccio. Maurice Ravel had a very close relationship with the Principality and in particular with the Salle Garnier of the Casino de Monte-Carlo, the place where his lyrical fantasyL'Enfant et les sortileges was created. As for Liszt's work, it was one of the great musical revelations of my childhood, and one of the works that inspired me to become a pianist."

Slava Guerchovitch, piano

Slava Guerchovitch
is a French pianist born in 1999 in the Principality of Monaco. Raised in an environment pre-established by three generations of violinists, he chose not to follow the family tradition by beginning his studies at the Rainier III Music Academy in Monaco with a completely different instrument: the piano.

In 2015, after brilliant studies in the Principality, Slava returned to the CNSM in Paris, where he inherited the advice of M. Béroff, L. Cabasso, MJ Jude, P. Benoît, H. Cartier-Bresson, F. Rossano... He obtains its Piano License unanimously with the congratulations of the jury. Slava pursues his studies at the Rueil-Malmaison Conservatory, in the class of the Russian pedagogue Réna Shereshevskaya. A competitor at heart, he recently won the Prix de la Jeunesse Musicale Française at the Epinal International Piano Competition, after having won numerous competitions: 2nd prize at the Claude Bonneton Competition in Sète, Bronze Medal at the Claude Kahn in Paris, 1st prize at the Scriabine Competition in Paris, etc.

This album contains no booklet.