Four Hands Alexandre Tharaud

• Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897):
• 1Brahms: 21 Hungarian Dances, WoO 1: No. 5 in F-Sharp Minor (Piano 4-Hands Version)02:08
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750):
• 2Bach: Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106 "Actus Tragicus": No. 2, Chöre, Arioso und Aria. "Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit" (Arr. Kurtág for Piano 4-Hands)02:20
• Astor Piazzolla (1921 - 1992):
• 3Piazzolla: Libertango (Arr. Yamamoto for Piano 4-Hands)03:47
• Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924):
• 4Fauré: Dolly, Op. 56: I. Berceuse02:20
• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893):
• 5Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66, Act 1 "The Spell": No. 6, Waltz (Arr. Rachmaninov for Piano 4-Hands)03:59
• Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937):
• 6Ravel: Ma Mère l'Oye, M. 60: V. Le jardin féérique02:56
• Erik Satie (1866 - 1925):
• 7Satie: Parade: Prestidigitateur chinois02:16
• Jean Françaix (1912 - 1997):
• 8Françaix: 15 Portraits d'enfants d'Auguste Renoir: No. 7, Fillette au chapeau bleu01:32
• Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828):
• 9Schubert: 3 Marches militaires, Op. 51, D. 733: No. 1 in D Major04:48
• Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907):
• 10Grieg: 4 Norwegian Dances, Op. 35: No. 2 in A Major, Allegretto tranquillo e grazioso02:17
• Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809):
• 11Haydn: Piano Trio in G Major, Hob. XV:25: III. Rondo all'ongarese. Presto (Arr. Metzdorff for Piano 4-Hands)03:28
• Antonín Dvořák (1841 - 1904):
• 12Dvořák: Slavonic Dances, Op. 72, B. 145: No. 2 in E Minor, Allegretto grazioso04:35
• Albert Lavignac (1864 - 1916):
• 13Lavignac: Galop-marche à huit mains (Arr. Lemoine for Piano 4-Hands)03:23
• Charles-Henry (1799 - 1885):
• 14Charles-Henry: 3 + 3: No. 3, The Just Average00:47
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791):
• 15Mozart: Sonata for Piano 4-Hands in D Major, K. 381: III. Allegro molto03:15
• Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963):
• 16Poulenc: Sonata for Piano 4-Hands, FP 8: I. Prelude02:07
• Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918):
• 17Debussy: Petite suite, CD 71, L. 65: I. En bateau03:22
• Philip Glass (b. 1937)
• 18Glass: 3 Pieces for Four Hands: No. 2, Stokes03:31
• Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943):
• 19Rachmaninoff: 6 Morceaux, Op. 11: No. 1, Barcarolle06:18
• Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856):
• 20Schumann: 6 Studien in kanonischer Form, Op. 56: No. 4, Innig (Transcr. Bizet for Piano 4-Hands)02:51
• Gabriel Pierné (1863 - 1937):
• 21Pierné: Barcarolle, Op. 2603:44
• Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875):
• 22Bizet: Jeux d'enfants, Op. 22, WD 56: No. 12, Le bal01:43
• Total Runtime01:07:27

Info for Four Hands

This was something I'd had in mind for a long time..." says pianist Alexandre Tharaud, "to put together an album for the sheer pleasure of it, in collaboration with dear friends and paying tribute to the wonders of the piano duet repertoire." The aptly named 4 Hands offers 18 tracks, each just a few minutes in length, each featuring Tharaud sharing a piano keyboard with a different partner. The repertoire ranges wide - from Bach to Glass by way of such composers as Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Fauré, Satie, Debussy, Ravel, Rachmaninov, Ravel and Piazzolla. 15 of Tharaud's fellow performers are celebrated pianists - among them the late Nicholas Angelich, Mariam Batsashvili, Bertrand Chamayou, David Fray, Víkingur Olafsson and Beatrice Rana. The other three, all stars in their musical fields, are shown in a new, pianistic light: cellist Gautier Capuçon, countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and singer-songwriter Juliette. "The piano duet is one of life's miracles," continues Tharaud. "First and foremost, it is the most intimate way of playing chamber music... It was a joy to record this album... If hearing these pieces prompts people to buy some sheet music and enjoy playing duets together - just as we did in the recording studio - then I will have achieved my aim.

Alexandre Tharaud, piano
Nicholas Angelich, piano
Martin James Bartlett, piano
Mariam Batsashvili, piano
Arielle Beck, piano
Frank Braley, piano
Gautier Capucon, piano
Bertrand Chamayou, piano
Michel Dalberto, piano
David Fray, piano
Philippe Jaroussky, piano
Juliette, piano
Momo Kodama, piano
Bruce Liu, piano
Aleksandar Madzar, piano
Alexander Melnikov, piano
Mr Nobody, piano
Víkingur Olafsson, piano
Beatrice Rana, piano
Eric Le Sage, piano
Emmanuel Strosser, piano
Frederic Vaysse-Knitter, piano
Vanessa Wagner, piano

Alexandre Tharaud
For Harmonia Mundi, Alexandre made a series of successful and award winning recordings which included discs of Rameau, Ravel (complete piano works), Bach (Italian Concerti), Couperin, Satie. He has recorded a series of Chopin discs; the complete waltzes and twenty four preludes as well as a personal selection, Journal Intime, which marked his first release with EMI Classics. Subsequent, award winning releases include JS Bach’s keyboard concertos and a selection of Scarlatti’s sonatas.

In recent seasons, Alexandre has appeared at the Köln Philharmonie, Bern Casino, Essen Philharmonie, South Bank piano series, Rudolfinum in Prague, Krakow Philharmonic, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Cité de la Musique, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, John F Kennedy Centre and Hoam Art Hall in Seoul. His festival credits include ‘Piano aux Jacobins', La Roque d'Anthéron, BBC PROMS, Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music, Sacrum-Profanum in Krakow, Schleswig-Holstein and the Rimini festival.

Alexandre is a Resident Artist at the MC2 in Grenoble, and was the Artistic Director of the Amadeus festival in Switzerland in 2011.

As a soloist, Alexandre has performed with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestre National de Bordeaux-Aquitaine, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfonica do Estado de Sao Paulo, Umea Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken,

Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Taïwan National Symphony Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Les Violons du Roy and the Bolchoi Theatre Orchestra. Next season will see him perform Poulenc’s concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

His close collaboration with cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras has led to invitations to perform at the most prestigious halls around the world and recordings of three successful CDs (Hungarian cello music, Arpeggione, Debussy/Poulenc).

Alexandre's adventurous approach to programming has resulted in a number of commissions and premières; he has toured extensively in Europe with his ‘Hommages à Rameau' and ‘Hommage à Couperin' programmes which feature works by the old masters interwoven with tributes by contemporary composers. May saw the premiere of Pianosong; a selection of contemporary works composed after popular songs from the 1960s-80s. He has also just premiered French composer Gérard Pesson’s new piano concerto, together with the Tonhalle.

This album contains no booklet.