GEORGE ENESCU (1881-1955)

COMPLETE WORKS FOR SOLO PIANO • 2

JOSU DE SOLAUN

“Enescu’s Third Piano Sonata is a landmark in the history of writing for the piano. Its sheer inventiveness and enormous range of expression, from the boisterously rustic and joyful, to the utmost tragedy, from the bawdy and witty, to a sense of fragmentation akin to madness, it is a gift to all pianists from one of the most fertile imaginations of all times. No wonder it has been in the repertoire of many great pianists, such as Dinu Lipatti. The Suite in D Major, as well, stands as one of the great 20th century works for the instrument, a real treasury of both pianistic sumptuosness and bittersweet nostalgia.” – Josu De Solaun

Winner of the George Enescu International Piano Competition 2014

About this Recording

The four works in this second of three volumes devoted to Enescu’s piano music range over a period of more than 30 years. The earliest is the joyful, ebullient Suite ‘Des cloches sonores’, Op. 10 which covers a wide expressive range including use of the melancholy Romanian song, the doina. The Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 24 is a mercurial, puckish work, both spirited and contemplative, and the Pièce sur le nom de Fauré is a charming souvenir from one composer to another.

JOSU DE SOLAUN

Pianist JOSU DE SOLAUN is a First Prize winner of the XIII George Enescu International Piano Competition in Bucharest (previous winners include the legendary pianists Radu Lupu and Elisabeth Leonskaja) and the XV José Iturbi International Piano Competition. He has been invited to perform in distinguished concert series throughout the world, having made notable appearances in Bucharest (Romanian Athenaeum), St Petersburg (Mariinsky Theatre), Washington DC (Kennedy Center), New York (Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Opera), London (Southbank Centre), Paris (Salle Cortot), Mexico City (Sala Silvestre Revueltas), and all major cities of Spain.