PIANORCHESTRA

François-Xavier Poizat “A magician at the piano”

Trained within the Russian school by Alexeï Golovine in Geneva and Evgenij Koroliov in Hamburg, and now with Nelson Goerner, the pianist is described by Martha Argerich as “a very talented young pianist with a remarkable virtuosity and deep lyricism” and by Boris Berezovsky as “an excellent musician with high virtuosity”. Born in 1989, the French-Swiss pianist began his career at the age of 12 when the great Argentinian pianist invited him to Japan to play for the “Pacific Music Festival”.

TCHAIKOVSKY The Symphonies and Manfred

Between February 2011 and March 2014, PENTATONE released a highly acclaimed cycle of recordings of the complete symphonies by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, as well as the Marche Slave, the Festival Coronation March, Romeo and Juliet, Francesca da Rimini, Capriccio Italien and the Manfred Symphony.

Tchaikovsky defined the symphony as being "the most lyrical of musical forms. After all, is it not meant to express that for which there are no words, but which forces itself out of the soul, impatiently waiting to be uttered?" With these words, the composer makes us aware of the special nature of his symphonies.

They primarily provided him with a musical outlet for the expression and elaboration of his emotions, his mental and spiritual processes.

All recordings are performed by the world class Russian National Orchestra under the direction of Mikhail Pletnev. This majestic cycle, with Symphony No. 5 selected as CD of the Month by BBC Music Magazine, is now presented in a magnificent 7 SACD box set.

A wonderfully complete collection allowing you to fully enjoy the unsurpassed lyrical mastery of Tchaikovsky in optimal sound quality.

TCHAIKOVSKY The Nutcracker complete Ballet arranged for solo Piano

A quick glance at the cover of this recording of Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" might cause some to mistake it for the original orchestral music, because the words "arranged for solo piano" are in the smallest print. Stewart Goodyear's piano arrangement of the complete ballet is a fascinating example of the art of transcription, and the pianist deserves credit not only for his ingenious handling of Tchaikovsky's orchestration in terms of the keyboard's sonorities, but also for playing with close attention to details and tone colors that give the music its fantastic character.

Release date: 30th Oct 2015

This Steinway & Sons recording is certainly a delight for its energy and brilliance, and fans of piano music will appreciate Goodyear's cleverness in adapting such perennial favorites as the "Overture," the "March," the "Divertissements," and the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy," which are familiar as the "Nutcracker Suite." But the full ballet may be a bit much in piano reduction, and unless one is prepared to hear all 82 minutes of this piano version, "The Nutcracker" is best enjoyed in its full score.

"Mr. Goodyear channeled his love for the work into his own elaborate, detailed and utterly captivating arrangement for solo piano, which he plays magnificently on this new recording...Goodyear honors Tchaikovsky's music through his ingenious arrangement." --Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times, November 4, 2015