Jean-Efflam Bavouzet Plays Haydn Piano Concertos Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Gábor Takács-Nagy, Manchester Camerata

• Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809): Piano Concerto No. 3 in F Major, Hob. XVIII:3:
• 1 Haydn: Piano Concerto No. 3 in F Major, Hob. XVIII:3: I. Allegro 09:48
• 2 Haydn: Piano Concerto No. 3 in F Major, Hob. XVIII:3: II. Largo cantabile 07:39
• 3 Haydn: Piano Concerto No. 3 in F Major, Hob. XVIII:3: III. Finale. Presto 03:52
• Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Hob. XVIII:4: I
• 4 Haydn: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Hob. XVIII:4: I. Allegro moderato 09:14
• 5 Haydn: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Hob. XVIII:4: II. Adagio cantabile 06:48
• 6 Haydn: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Hob. XVIII:4: III. Rondo. Presto 03:58
• Piano Concerto No. 11 in D Major, Hob. XVIII:11:
• 7 Haydn: Piano Concerto No. 11 in D Major, Hob. XVIII:11: I. Vivace 08:10
• 8 Haydn: Piano Concerto No. 11 in D Major, Hob. XVIII:11: II. Un poco Adagio 06:45
• 9 Haydn: Piano Concerto No. 11 in D Major, Hob. XVIII:11: III. Rondo all'Ungherese. Allegro assai - Minore 04:14
• Total Runtime 01:00:28

Info for Jean-Efflam Bavouzet Plays Haydn Piano Concertos

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet is recognised today as one of the world’s finest interpreters of Haydn’s piano works, International Piano describing him as ‘Haydn’s greatest contemporary keyboard exponent’. In the first five volumes of his ongoing series devoted to Haydn’s sonatas he has been applauded for his intelligent musicianship, crisp technique, and sheer sense of joy in the music. In this concerto recording he performs in partnership with the conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy, the two united by an admiration for Haydn’s infectious good humour and art of the unexpected.

Of the twelve keyboard concertos carrying Haydn’s name, the third, fourth, and eleventh, recorded here, are the best known. The publication history of the rest casts doubt on their authenticity; many imitations were attributed to Haydn by publishers wanting to cash in on his wild popularity in Europe during his life.

The concertos in F and G major are early works, in an early style, simply constructed, with graceful and clear keyboard writing. One finds plenty of Haydnesque charm and spirit in these scores, both of which feature specially touching slow movements. By contrast, the Concerto in D major is a work of the composer’s maturity, full of strikingly dramatic contrasts and characteristic wit. Certainly accounting for much of its enduring popularity, the infectious Hungarian Rondo finale brings the concerto to a rousing conclusion.

“…Bavouzet’s delivery is unfailingly crisp and he pinpoints the essence of Haydn’s gestures, from the cheeky to the most heartfelt… Bavouzet’s decorations of line are as stylish as they are fascinating and delightful; his cadenzas as intelligent as one might expect. He plays on a Yamaha, whose crystal tone seems perfect for this repertoire.” (Colin Clarke, International Piano magazine)

“…Never more than here, for Manchester Camerata and Gábor Takács-Nagy (The founder of the Takács Quartet) offer stylish, detailed and dynamic support to Bavouzet, and he is the asolute master of the solo parts, playing with relish, imagination, a range of touch and volume. And with devotion and affection, pointing up the crispness and shapeliness Haydn’s urbanity and his delicious surprises; and it’s Bavouzet who contributes the cadenzas, each a winner… These are marvellous performances of very agreeable music and the sound quality is ideally balanced between soloist and ensemble and also between warmth and clarity.” (Colin Anderson, ClassicalSource.com)

“Jean-Efflam Bavouzet adds witty ornamentation, throws in out-of-period cadenzas, and plays with irresistible exuberance. It is a disc that is hard to play without breaking into a smile.” (Richard Fairman, Financial Times)

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, piano
Manchester Camerata
Gábor Takács-Nagy, conductor

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet
He makes you listen to music as if you are discovering it Eureka!-style: yes, that’s what the composer must have meant.” (Financial Times).

Award-winning pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet enjoys a prolific recording and international concert career. He regularly works with orchestras such as The Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony and NHK Symphony orchestras, and collaborates with conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Vladimir Jurowski, Gianandrea Noseda, François- Xavier Roth, Nicholas Collon, Gábor Takács-Nagy and Sir Andrew Davis amongst others.

Highlights during the 2018/19 season include the Lincoln Center in New York with the London Philharmonic under Edward Gardner, Orchestre national de Lyon, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, a Debussy focus with the Antwerp Symphony, his continuing collaboration with Manchester Camerata including an extensive tour of China as well as performances with Sapporo Symphony, Seoul and Taiwan philharmonic orchestras. Following his highly successful extended Debussy recital at the Barbican’s Milton Court and the 2018 Perth International Arts Festival, Jean-Efflam will present this programme at the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam. Other recitals include a return to the Louvre, Wigmore Hall – both in solo recital and in collaboration with Kristóf Baráti and István Várdai, as well as a number of recitals in the U.K., Germany and Belgium. He will also return to the Verbier Festival in 2019.

Recent performances include the San Francisco Symphony, Aspen Festival, and Seattle, NHK and BBC symphony orchestras. He also appeared at the Philharmonie de Paris with Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo and Kazuki Yamada, BBC Proms performing Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and Nicholas Collon, Carnegie Hall, as part of a major North American tour together with the London Philharmonic under Vladimir Jurowski, as well as hr-Sinfonieorchester under Juraj Valčuha, Les Siécles and François-Xavier Roth which included concerts at London’s Royal Festival Hall and the Granada Festival.

Bavouzet records exclusively for Chandos and his recording of Grieg’s Piano Concerto with Bergen Philharmonic under Edward Gardner has been nominated for the Concerto category of the 2018 Gramophone Awards. Together with Manchester Camerata and Gábor Takács-Nagy, Bavouzet has recorded several of Haydn’s Piano Concertos and embarked on a series of Mozart concertos, which have been critically acclaimed. His complete Prokofiev Piano Concertos with BBC Philharmonic and Gianandrea Noseda won the Concerto category of the 2014 Gramophone Awards. Other recordings include the complete Beethoven Sonatas, Bartók’s Piano Concerto’s with the BBC Philharmonic and Noseda, and Stravinsky’s Complete Works for Piano and Orchestra with Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo under Yan-Pascal Tortelier. Also with Tortelier, Bavouzet’s recording of the Ravel Piano concertos with the BBC Symphony Orchestra won both a Gramophone and BBC magazine award. Bavouzet’s recordings have garnered other Gramophone Awards and BBC Music Magazine Awards, a Diapason d’Or and Choc de l’année. Ongoing recording projects include the Haydn Piano Sonata cycles.

Bavouzet has worked closely with Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, György Kurtág, Maurice Ohana and Bruno Mantovani and is also a champion of lesser-known French music, notably that of Gabriel Pierné and Albéric Magnard. He is the International Chair in Piano at the Royal Northern College of Music.

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