Brahms Une jeunesse intrépide Nicolas Stavy

• 1 I. Andante 05:08
• 2 II. Andante 07:17
• 3 III. Intermezzo (Allegro) 04:22
• 4 IV. Andante con moto 10:40
• 5 String Sextet No. 1 in B-Flat Major, Op. 18: II. Andante ma moderato (Version pour piano) 11:24
• 6 I. Allegro Maestoso 11:18
• 7 II. Andante (Andante espressivo) 12:56
• 8 III. Scherzo (Allegro energico) 05:34
• 9 IV. Intermezzo (Andante molto) 03:49
• 10 V. Finale (Allegro moderato) 08:25
• Total Runtime 01:20:53

Info for Brahms Une jeunesse intrépide

For this album, Nicolas Stavy selected three very different pieces of Brahms’s music, composed in 1853/1854 by a then 20 year old musician. Variations in D minor – Originally for string sextet (it is in fact the slow movement of the First Sextet), this passionate piece, composed in one creative drive, is rarely played in its piano version. Brahms dedicated his transcription to Clara Schumann. Composed the same year as the Variations, yet in a more intimist - even somber - vein, the splendid Four Ballads, seem to open new stylistic perspectives… Their mysterious, contemplative atmosphere already announces the last opuses. More than a mere illustration of Grimm’s texts, Brahms’s sound world is spectacular. In the Third Sonata (opus 5!) - the only piece Brahms submitted to Robert Schumann during its compositional process - Brahms’s style already proves much more personal and accomplished than in the first two sonatas. It certainly does not yet have the technical mastery present in the second concerto or the later works, but it encompasses all the characteristics of Brahms’s inimitable world: full, dense texture, noble spirit, passion, lyric inspiration… The slow movement is one of the greatest pages of music of the 19th century, says Nicolas Stavy.

Nicolas Stavy is a lyrical and sensitive musician endowed with a rare imagination: „He imposes a dense personal subjective tone which is highly compelling: he goes to the limit.“ (Concertonet)

Nicolas Stavy, piano

Nicolas Stavy
He is a magnificient interpreter of the romantic repertoire: His Chopin CD issued by Paraty was very warmly received by the press: « Nicolas Stavy has a genuinely vocal talent , which is the key to open the door to Chopin’s emotional art (Le Monde de la Musique). He is also known for his classical repertoire and his recording of the rarely played keyboard version of Haydn’s the Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross for the Mandala label « … Nicolas Stavy shows a deep understanding of the composer’s universe , on a level comparable to Luisada or Brendel. » (Diapason).

Constantly eager to discover new fields, this musician performs chamber music with such renowned artists as Cédric Tiberghien, Marc Coppey, Tedi Papavrami, Françoise Masset, Nemanja Radulovic, Atrium Quartet, Ébène quartet, Psophos quartet … Besides, he very successfully played, alternating with Mikhail Rudy , in Le pianiste by Wladyslaw Szpilman, starring the actor Robin Renucci . He also frequently gets involved in various projects with actors such as Didier Sandre, Brigitte Fossey, François Castang.

In France as well as abroad , his audiences are enthusiastic about his sensitive tone which « makes the piano sing splendidly » (La Lettre du Musicien). Nicolas Stavy has performed in many prestigious venues : Festival de la Roque d’Anthéron, Chopin Festivals in Nohant and in Bagatelle, Festival de l’Orangerie de Sceaux, Lille Piano(s) Festival , Berlioz Festival, Orsay Museum , Salle Cortot, Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris, Opéra de Vichy, EuroArt Praha Festival, Grenada « Fex » Festival, Klavier Ruhr Festival, Casals Hall in Tokyo, Athenaeum in Bucharest, Victoria Hall in Geneva, Hong-Kong Academy for Performing Arts, 92nd Street Y of New York...

And as a soloist , with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Utah Symphonic Orchestra in Salt Lake City, the Orchestre Sinfonietta de Lausanne, the Bucharest Philharmonic , the Belgorod Philharmonic …

He studied with Gérard Frémy and Christian Ivaldi in the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, and obtained first prize for piano and chamber music . He then received advanced training from Dominique Merlet at the Geneva Conservatoire where he won a first prize with distinction. He also attended master classes with the great master György Sebok and received valuable advice from Alfred Brendel. He has won several international competitions : Special Prize at the 2000 Chopin competition in Warsaw, Second Prize at the 2001 Geneva International competition, Fourth prize at the 2002 Gina Bachauer competition in the USA , Second prize at the 2003 Young Concert Artists in New York …

Since 2002, he has been sponsored by Cultures France, thanks to whom he was able to record his first CD in the series « Déclic ». He is regularly invited on radio and television programmes in France and abroad: on Arte, Mezzo, Planète, France Musique, Radio Classique, Radio Suisse Romande, etc.

In 2009 he recorded a CD dedicated to the French composer Hélène de Montgeroult , and a Brahms cd in 2010, for the Hortus label.

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