Oswald, Saint-Saëns & Nepomuceno: Piano Works Clélia Iruzun, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Jac van Steen

• Henrique Oswald (1852 - 1931): Piano Concerto in G Minor, Op. 10:
• 1 Piano Concerto in G Minor, Op. 10: I. Allegro un poco agitato 14:56
• 2 Piano Concerto in G Minor, Op. 10: II. Adagio 07:57
• 3 Piano Concerto in G Minor, Op. 10: III. Allegro 07:01
• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921): Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, Op. 103, R. 250 "Egyptian":
• 4 Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, Op. 103, R. 250 "Egyptian": I. Allegro animato 11:27
• 5 Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, Op. 103, R. 250 "Egyptian": II. Andante 10:54
• 6 Piano Concerto No. 5 in F Major, Op. 103, R. 250 "Egyptian": III. Molto allegro 06:29
• Alberto Nepomuceno (1864 - 1920): Suite antique, Op. 11:
• 7 Suite antique, Op. 11: I. Prélude 01:15
• 8 Suite antique, Op. 11: II. Menuet 04:05
• 9 Suite antique, Op. 11: III. Air 04:21
• 10 Suite antique, Op. 11: IV. Rigaudon 03:29
• Total Runtime 01:11:54

Info for Oswald, Saint-Saëns & Nepomuceno: Piano Works

SOMM Recordings is pleased to announce the return of the acclaimed partnership of pianist Clélia Iruzun and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jac van Steen with two colourful late-19th-century Romantic Piano Concertos from Brazil and France: Henrique Oswalds G minor Piano Concerto, Op.10 and the Fifth Piano Concerto in F major (Op.103) by Camille Saint-Saëns.

Iruzun’s Brazilian compatriot Henrique Oswald shared a long friendship with Camille Saint-Saëns based on mutual admiration for each other as composers and pianists. They occasionally performed together some of Saint-Saëns’ music for two pianos in public recitals.

Saint-Saëns’ exotic Fifth Piano Concerto, the Egyptian, was composed during a North African holiday in 1896. Combining complex piano writing with a deft lightness of touch, it boasts a lyrical main theme (described by Saint-Saëns as “a Nubian love song”), hypnotic echoes of the gamelan and a finale bursting with virtuosity.

Oswald’s Piano Concerto was composed in Italy a decade before Saint-Saëns’ Egyptian. With bravura passages recalling Saint-Saëns’ Second Piano Concerto, its richly Romantic vein carries allusions to Fauré while brimming with Oswald’s intriguing native Brazilian rhythms.

Like Oswald, Alberto Nepomuceno was a Brazilian who studied in Europe, later succeeding him in a prestigious teaching position in Rio de Janeiro. Modelled on Grieg’s Suite from Holberg’s Time, his Suite Antiga (Suite in the Old Style) combines Baroque style and Romantic attitude with a bewitching savoir faire.

Gavin Dixon’s informative booklet notes trace the revealing connections between all three composers.

Clélia Iruzun’s previous SOMM recording with the RPO and Jac van Steen – Piano Concertos by Albeniz and Mignone (SOMMCD 265) – was nominated for an International Classical Music Award in 2019 and described by Gramophone as “a valuable release… very well recorded”.

A collection of late-Romantic and contemporary works for piano and string quartet from the Americas, Treasures from the New World (SOMMCD 0609), Iruzun’s most recent SOMM release with the Coull Quartet, was hailed by Gramophone as “beautifully paced… a delight, as the disc is as a whole”.

“Both concerti are replete with mind-boggling technical hurdles which the formidable Brazilian pianist Clélia Iruzun elegantly tosses off and then balances with passages of exquisite lyricism in a stunning performance that also boasts the solid support of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra superbly led by Dutch maestro Jac Van Steen. The production and engineering are both vintage SOMM. A rare treat – Brazilian composer Alberto Nepomuceno’ four-movement Suite Antiga is included in the album, affording the listener the opportunity to enjoy a 19th century Brazilian take on an 18th Century European Baroque construct played with utmost delicacy by a major pianistic talent.” (Rafael de Acha, Music Notes)

Clelia Iruzun, piano
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Jac van Steen, conductor

Clélia Iruzun
With her unique combination of a colourful Brazilian spirit and profound musicianship, the London-based pianist Clélia Iruzun has become one of the most exciting musicians to arrive on the international concert scene in recent years.

Clélia initially studied at the School of Music at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and later at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she won several notable prizes in international competitions before graduating with the Academy’s Recital Diploma. Clélia subsequently worked with a number of greatly-admired virtuosos, including Nelson Freire, Jacques Klein, Stephen Kovacevich and Fou Ts’Ong, and most particularly with the highly distinguished Brazilian pianist and pedagogue Mercês de Silva Telles in Paris. Notable Brazilian composers, including Francisco Mignone, Arnaldo Rebello and Marlos Nobre, have dedicated works to Clélia, including – most recently – Beethoven Cunha and Alexandre Rachid.

Clélia Iruzun now pursues a busy international career as soloist, having performed across Europe, the Americas and Asia, including concerts at the Grand Theatre in Shanghai (where her recital was voted ‘one of the ten best concerts of the year’), the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, the Konserthuset in Gothenburg and Stockholm, the Poznan Philharmonie, and at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Wigmore Hall. Clélia also undertakes annual tours of Brazil, appearing in the major halls, festivals and series of her native country. She also appears frequently on radio and television in many countries, and often broadcasts for BBC Radio 3.

Clélia has premiered music by such significant Brazilian composers as Francisco Mignone, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Henrique Oswald, Marlos Nobre, João Guilherme Ripper, Radamés Gnattali and others in many countries. She has also given the South American premieres of important English piano music, notably works by Arnold Bax and York Bowen.

Her much-admired discography embraces a variety of repertoire, from Latin-American composers to the Mendelssohn Concertos and Elizabeth Maconchy’s Concertino for Piano and Orchestra with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Other CDs include the Piano Music of Marlos Nobre on the Lorelt label, for whom she has also recorded a disc of Ernesto Nazareth’s piano music – ‘Portrait of Rio’.

Recent recordings by Clélia on the SOMM international label include two acclaimed volumes of Frederic Mompou’s Piano Music. Her most recent CD for the company is of Piano Concertos by Francisco Mignone and Isaac Albéniz with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jac van Steen – a disc hailed by International Piano: ‘Clélia comes into her vivid own, playing with a superb mastery and empathy; it is difficult to imagine it played with greater skill and affection.’

Booklet for Oswald, Saint-Saëns & Nepomuceno: Piano Works