The Year That Never Was Matei Varga

• Ernesto Lecuona (1895 - 1963): Suite española:
• 1 Lecuona: Suite española: No. 2, Andaluza 02:29
• Frederic Chopin (1810 - 1849): 3 Ecossaises, Op. 72 No. 3, B. 12:
• 2 Chopin: 3 Ecossaises, Op. 72 No. 3, B. 12: No. 1 in D Major 00:58
• 3 Chopin: 3 Ecossaises, Op. 72 No. 3, B. 12: No. 2 in G Major 00:51
• 4 Chopin: 3 Ecossaises, Op. 72 No. 3, B. 12: No. 3 in D-Flat Major 00:51
• George Gershwin (1898 - 1937): I Got Rhythm (From "Girl Crazy") [Arr. for Piano]:
• 5 Gershwin: I Got Rhythm (From "Girl Crazy") [Arr. for Piano] 01:18
• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Für Elise, WoO 59:
• 6 Beethoven: Für Elise, WoO 59 02:29
• Ernesto Lecuona: Danzas cubanas al estilo del siglo XIX (Excerpts):
• 7 Lecuona: Danzas cubanas al estilo del siglo XIX (Excerpts): No. 8, La cardenense 01:23
• 8 Lecuona: Danzas cubanas al estilo del siglo XIX (Excerpts): No. 6, Arabesque 01:08
• 9 Lecuona: Danzas cubanas al estilo del siglo XIX (Excerpts): No. 5, La mulata 00:50
• 10 Lecuona: Danzas cubanas al estilo del siglo XIX (Excerpts): No. 9, Al fin te vi 00:52
• 11 Lecuona: Danzas cubanas al estilo del siglo XIX (Excerpts): No. 10, Minstrels 01:49
• Frédéric Chopin: Impromptu No. 3 in G-Flat Major, Op. 51, B. 149:
• 12 Chopin: Impromptu No. 3 in G-Flat Major, Op. 51, B. 149 04:39
• Ernesto Lecuona: Zambra gitana (Arr. T. Tirino for Piano):
• 13 Lecuona: Zambra gitana (Arr. T. Tirino for Piano) 02:49
• Domenico Scarlatti (1685 - 1757): Keyboard Sonata in E Major, Kk. 380:
• 14 Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in E Major, Kk. 380 02:27
• Keyboard Sonata in E Major, Kk. 135:
• 15 Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in E Major, Kk. 135 02:05
• Andrei Tudor (b. 1983): Rondo alla Crazy:
• 16 Tudor: Rondo alla Crazy 03:16
• Mily Balakirev (1837 - 1910): Spanish Melody:
• 17 Balakirev: Spanish Melody 03:24
• Frédéric Chopin: Fantaisie-Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 66, B. 87:
• 18 Chopin: Fantaisie-Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 66, B. 87 05:25
• Ernesto Lecuona: Danzas afro-cubanas:
• 19 Lecuona: Danzas afro-cubanas: No. 5, Danza lucumi 02:19
• Frédéric Chopin: Étude in C Minor, Op. 10 No. 12, B. 67 "Revolutionary":
• 20 Chopin: Étude in C Minor, Op. 10 No. 12, B. 67 "Revolutionary" 02:53
• George Gershwin: The Man I Love (From "Strike Up the Band") [Arr. for Piano]:
• 21 Gershwin: The Man I Love (From "Strike Up the Band") [Arr. for Piano] 02:04
• Frédéric Chopin: Impromptu No. 1 in A-Flat Major, Op. 29, B. 110:
• 22 Chopin: Impromptu No. 1 in A-Flat Major, Op. 29, B. 110 04:08
• Ernesto Lecuona: Yo te quiero siempre, canción (Arr. T. Tirino for Piano):
• 23 Lecuona: Yo te quiero siempre, canción (Arr. T. Tirino for Piano) 02:03
• Vals azul (From “Lola Cruz”) [Arr. M. Van Brink for Piano]:
• 24 Lecuona: Vals azul (From “Lola Cruz”) [Arr. M. Van Brink for Piano] 02:44
• Total Runtime 55:14

Info for The Year That Never Was

To paraphrase Tolstoy, all happy memories feel more or less the same; but the unhappy times are experienced differently by each one of us. We’ve all had some really tough weeks, which sometimes turned into months, and (with a bit of bad luck) into years... I like to think that “off” years help us grow and prepare for the beautiful things that will undoubtedly come our way (I am an optimist at heart), but living through dark times is a complicated process.

The year 2020 was complicated indeed. The world was put on hold and we hardly remember what we did in February, or May, or September... Many suffered from isolation and the inability to socialize - and they probably prefer to think back to 2020 as a year that never happened... I, on the other hand, felt liberated by the lack of schedules, appointments and the pressure to be productive - that horrid word which is killing our souls, slowly but surely. Instead I embraced seclusion and enjoyed the time off which was forced upon us. Yes, I did miss performing in front of a live audience and traveling to beautiful places, but I found that staying home, with my piano, offered me a better view towards my inner self and a chance to experience the joy of a new discovery. That was for me the Cuban master Ernesto Lecuona...

... Two years later, the pandemic isn’t over and neither is the collective anxiety - but at least I can offer you this very personal recording, which I hope will take your mind away from the current realities. This is music’s most phenomenal power - to bring joy when we really need it!... (Matei Varga)

Matei Varga, piano

Matei Varga
In recent years, Mr. Varga’s artistry has received standing ovations from audiences around the world and superlative reviews from prominent critics. Noting that “it is hard to find the right words to describe the beauty” of Mr. Varga’s playing, the legendary Italian critic Paolo Isotta praised the young artist as a “true poet of the keyboard, a musician of depth, and a genuine artist.” Other critics have found his performances “impressive” (Gramophone, 2016), “magical” (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 2009), “colorful, vivacious [and] engaging” (Le Diapason, 2012), “luminous” (ConcertoNet 2011), and “spectacular” (Adevarul, 2013).

A “musician who can imbue even the simplest of melodic lines with meaning” (Fanfare, 2012), Mr. Varga is equally at home in staples of the pianistic repertoire and works written by today’s foremost composers, as evidenced by his commission to perform the European premiere of Michael Hersch’s “insanely difficult” second piano concerto, which left the audience “astonished” (Neue Musikzeitung, 2013). His latest recording in collaboration with cellist Laura Metcalf (“First Day”) was ranked in the top 10 of Classical Music Billboard chart in May 2016. Gramophone magazine wrote that “the cellist and pianist brilliantly address the music’s intense rhythmic interplay and extended lyrical passages”.

Photo by Jason Wang Mr. Varga’s 2017-18 appearances include performances of Messiaen’s Quartet for the end of time at venues in Portland, Los Angeles and Albuquerque, two appearances with the “George Enescu” Philharmonic at the Romanian Atheneum in Bucharest (performing Beethoven’s G major piano concerto) and a promotional tour of his latest recital-CD “Early Departures” released by Sono Luminus.

Winner of the “George Enescu” prize in Bucharest and laureate of the “Maria Canals” competition in Barcelona, Mr. Varga is also a recipient of the Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant. He has appeared as a soloist and recitalist in many of the world’s leading concert halls, among them Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall (New York), Konzerthaus (Berlin), the Auditorium du Louvre, Salle Gaveau, and Salle Cortot (Paris), National Center for the Performing Arts (Beijing), Royal Dramatic Theater (Stockholm), and Palau de la Música (Barcelona).

Mr. Varga holds degrees from the Romanian National University of Music, where he studied with Ana Pitis, Ioana Minei, and Sandu Sandrin, and the Mannes School of Music, where he studied with Pavlina Dokovska. He lives in New York City.

Booklet for The Year That Never Was