Lots of Bechstein at the Gramophone Editor's Choice Lists 2022

Cyprien Katsaris: Saint-Saëns

Cyprien Katsaris has often shown himself to be a master of transcriptions. To mark the centenary of the death of composer Camille Saint-Saëns, Cyprien Katsaris presents works by this versatile composer on his latest CD. The album begins with a transcription of Carnival of the Animals followed by the Hymn to Victor Hugo, the Bacchanale from his opera Samson et Dalila, and arrangements of the complete Organ Symphony and 2nd Piano Concerto. A truly monumental album and a colorful tribute to Saint-Saëns' work.

The final work on the album, the film score for L'Assassinat du duc de Guise, is particularly fascinating. It is the first film score in history ever commissioned by a composer. And Saint-Saëns was only justifiably pleased with his work: dramatically, the six-part suite meanders from one climax to the next, and Cyprien Katsaris exudes so much joy in playing and having fun with the humor of this lively music, despite the incredible number of notes.

The album was recorded in the spring of 2020 and January 2021 at the Église Évangélique Saint-Marcel in Paris on a C. Bechstein concert grand D282 for the Piano21 label.

Variations: Mozart, Beethoven & Brahms

„The art of writing variations is virtually as old as music itself”, writes Geoffrey Norris in his introductory notes to Simon Trpceski’s new album “Variations”. And it is true that this genre has produced so many stylistically different works that one never knows what to expect upon its encounter. From the virtuosic splendor of variations on popular opera melodies to the profound and intellectual masterworks of Beethoven and Bach, the simple idea of expanding on a musical idea in different ways can lead to surprises.
And so it is not surprising that Simon Trpceski presents a wonderfully diverse collection of variations from Vienna by Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms.
Played with nuance and elegance, both the variations on “Salve tu, Domine” by Mozart and the variations on a Russian Dance by Beethoven are a perfect ouverture to the album. Following them up with Brahms’ tragic variations on a theme by Robert Schumann Trpceski strikes a noticeably different tone that conjures the grave and somber. The delightful variations on “Come un Agnello” by Mozart act as an interlude before Beethoven’s well-known 32 variations on an original theme in C Minor conclude the list. Perfectly stylized and well-balanced every note excites the listener and the piece tells a fantastically dramatic story of highs and lows. All this is of course splendidly carried by the flexible sound of the C. Bechstein concert grand. Wonderful what Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and Trpceski can develop out of just a couple of simple themes!

The album by LINN Records was recorded in February 2021 at the studio Ölbergkirche Berlin on a C. Bechstein concert grand piano D282.

Stephen Hough: Schubert

No other great composer has left behind as many incomplete works as Franz Schubert. The surviving fragments are hardly known and full of music worth discovering. In his fantastic new album, Stephen Hough, who has a particular fondness for unknown 19th century works, presents the fragment of a piano sonata in E minor, barely more than thirty measures long, and surrounds it with the two sonatas in G major, D894, and A major, D664. Exquisitely played by Stephen Hough, this music comes into its own on the C. Bechstein concert grand. A true musical pleasure!

The album was recorded in April 2020 at the Henry Wood Hall in London on a C. Bechstein concert grand D282.