The Voice of Piano Carmen Stefanescu

• Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918): Beau Soir, CD 84, L. 6 (Arr. for Piano by Andreas J. Winkler):
• 1 Debussy: Beau Soir, CD 84, L. 6 (Arr. for Piano by Andreas J. Winkler) 02:31
• 5 Poèmes de Charles Baudelaire, CD 70, L. 64:
• 2 Debussy: 5 Poèmes de Charles Baudelaire, CD 70, L. 64: No. 3 Le Jet d'Eau (Arr. for Piano by Andreas J. Winkler) 05:23
• Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963): Improvisation No. 15 in C Minor:
• 3 Poulenc: Improvisation No. 15 in C Minor, FP 176 "Hommage à Édith Piaf" 03:15
• Mélancolie, FP 105:
• 4 Poulenc: Mélancolie, FP 105 06:31
• Frederic Mompou (1893 - 1987): Hoy la tierra y los cielos me sonríen (Arr. by Arcadi Volodos):
• 5 Mompou: Hoy la tierra y los cielos me sonríen (Arr. by Arcadi Volodos) 02:12
• Damunt de tu només les flors (Arr. by Arcadi Volodos):
• 6 Mompou: Damunt de tu només les flors (Arr. by Arcadi Volodos) 04:13
• Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943): 12 Romances, Op. 21:
• 7 Rachmaninoff: 12 Romances, Op. 21: No. 5, Lilacs (Arr. for Piano by the composer) 02:57
• 6 Romances, Op. 38:
• 8 Rachmaninoff: 6 Romances, Op. 38: No. 3, Daisies (Arr. for Piano by the composer) 02:22
• Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911): Rückert-Lieder, Op. 44:
• 9 Mahler: Rückert-Lieder, Op. 44: No. 1, Ich atmet' einen linden Duft (Arr. for Piano by Andreas J. Winkler) 02:32
• 10 Mahler: Rückert-Lieder, Op. 44: No. 4, Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (Arr. for Piano by Andreas J. Winkler) 05:43
• Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907): 6 Lieder, Op. 41:
• 11 Grieg: 6 Lieder, Op. 41: No. 3, Ich liebe dich (Arr. for Piano by the composer) 03:07
• 6 Lieder, Op. 48:
• 12 Grieg: 6 Lieder, Op. 48: No. 4, Die verschwiegene Nachtigall (Arr. for Piano by Carmen Stefanescu) 03:16
• Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828): Schwanengesang, S. 560:
• 13 Schubert: Schwanengesang, S. 560: No. 7, Ständchen (Arr. for Piano by Franz Liszt) 05:56
• Richard Strauss (1864 - 1949): 6 Lieder, Op. 17, TrV 149:
• 14 Strauss: 6 Lieder, Op. 17, TrV 149: No. 2, Ständchen (Arr. for Piano by Leopold Godowsky) 03:00
• Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897): 5 Lieder, Op. 49:
• 15 Brahms: 5 Lieder, Op. 49: No. 4, Wiegenlied (Arr. for Piano by Leopold Godowski) 01:58
• Romanian Trad. after Maria Tănase:
• 16 (1862–1918): Romanian Trad. after Maria Tănase: Frică mi-e că mor ca mâine (Arr. for Piano by Andreas J. Winkler) 04:17
• Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958): Fantasia on Greensleeves (Arr. for Piano by the composer):
• 17 Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves (Arr. for Piano by the composer) 04:57
• Fazil Say (b. 1970): Black Earth (Kara Toprak):
• 18 Say: Black Earth (Kara Toprak) 06:49
• Manuel de Falla (1876 - 1946): Siete canciones populares españolas (Arr. for Piano by Ernesto Halffter):
• 19 Falla: Siete canciones populares españolas (Arr. for Piano by Ernesto Halffter): I. El paño moruno 01:09
• 20 Falla: Siete canciones populares españolas (Arr. for Piano by Ernesto Halffter): II. Seguidilla 01:28
• 21 Falla: Siete canciones populares españolas (Arr. for Piano by Ernesto Halffter): III. Asturiana 02:28
• 22 Falla: Siete canciones populares españolas (Arr. for Piano by Ernesto Halffter): IV. Jota 02:56
• 23 Falla: Siete canciones populares españolas (Arr. for Piano by Ernesto Halffter): V. Nana 01:37
• 24 Falla: Siete canciones populares españolas (Arr. for Piano by Ernesto Halffter): VI. Canción 01:05
• 25 Falla: Siete canciones populares españolas (Arr. for Piano by Ernesto Halffter): VII. Polo 01:29
• Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957): 6 Impromptus, Op. 5:
• 26 Sibelius: 6 Impromptus, Op. 5: No. 4 in E Minor 02:41
• 27 Sibelius: 6 Impromptus, Op. 5: No. 5 in B Minor 03:31
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750): Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639 (Arr. for Piano by Ferruccio Busoni):
• 28 Bach: Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639 (Arr. for Piano by Ferruccio Busoni) 03:28
• Total Runtime 01:32:51

Info for The Voice of Piano

Carmen Stefanescu has loved classical music since her early childhood and even as a little Carmen she couldn’t get enough of the Beethoven and Mozart records that her mother – then working as a sound engineer at the radio station in Bucharest – brought home.

A piano soon came into the house and these 88 keys became the centre of her life and her great love.

Carmen has been living and teaching in Cologne since 2011. Here she recorded her first solo album«Kaleidoscope of Life», here she met the clarinetist Pamela Coats, with whom she released the album «Paris mon Amour» and here she found the ensemble GOLDKORN, with whom she makes music that touches the soul across genres.

Carmen Stefanescu has recorded a double album for Prospero Classical, with pieces that are all close to her heart. The doubel-album filled to the brim with wonderful piano music from Bach/Busoni to Gustav Mahler and Fazil Say.

Carmen Stefanescu, piano

Carmen Stefanescu
I have loved classical music since early childhood and even as little Carmen I couldn't get enough of the Beethoven and Mozart records that my mother - who was working as a sound engineer for the radio in Bucharest at the time - brought home. A piano soon came into the house and these 88 keys became the center of my life and my great love.

My parents fled the Ceausescu regime with me when I was 7 years old. Our escape took us via Israel and Italy to Germany, which became our new home. Even before we had furniture, a piano was brought into the house - a beautiful little "Bechstein" on which I tried to emulate my idol Arthur Rubinstein.

At the age of ten, Prof. Ulla Graf accepted me as a young student at the Aachen University of Music. In the years that followed, I won numerous competitions and prizes, played concerts with orchestra and solo. When I turned 18, I no longer wanted to be limited by genre boundaries and rules, not in music and not in life. The next ten years, in which I played as a keyboard player in various bands, were eventful, exciting - yes, crazy. Good music touches the soul, no matter what genre it is assigned to. My soul is touched by Debussy, Poulenc, Brahms and Chopin, but also Chick Corea and Bill Evans. So I began studying piano at the Cologne University of Music and graduated with distinction.

Then Leipzig became my home. I played music in this wonderful music city with soloists from the Gewandhaus, the MDR Orchestra and the Sinfonia London and I made friends for life. In Leipzig I discovered my love for song accompaniment by fantastic singers such as Carolin Masur and Laetitia Grimaldi Spitzer. I also met the wonderful pianist Irwin Gage in the Pleissem metropolis, who supported and inspired me for several years in his master classes in Florence. The special prize for the best Poulenc interpretation at the International Grieg Competition in Oslo for the piano duo with the pianist Juliane Tautz crowned this musical stage of my life.

Finally, in 2011, I was drawn back to the Rhineland. Since then, I have lived and taught in Cologne. Here I recorded my first solo CD "Kaleidoscope of Life", here I met the clarinetist Pamela Coats, with whom I released the CD "Paris mon Amour", and here I found the GOLDKORN ensemble, with whom I make music that touches the soul across genres. I have always been suspicious of straight paths and predetermined paths. So I found my own path, which is wonderfully uneven, full of detours. "Detours increase local knowledge" - as Kurt Tucholsky already knew.

Booklet for The Voice of Piano