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Oscar Lorenzo Fernández (1897–1948) gained international fame with Batuque, a piece championed by conductors such as Toscanini, Koussevitzky, Bernstein and Chávez. This became something of a stand-alone hit, and it seems to have entirely overshadowed his truly delightful music for piano. As a respected pedagogue in Brazil, many of his piano pieces are for children, but as can clearly be heard on this superb new recording, the boundaries of his creativity in the genre go very much further; the time for its re-evaluation and appreciation is long overdue.
Oscar LORENZO FERNANDEZ (1897–1948)
Piano Works
Suítes Brasileiras Nos. 1, 2 & 3
Prelúdios do Crepúsculo
Sonata Breve
Clélia Iruzun, PianoOscar Lorenzo Fernandez belonged to a key group of Brazilian composers including Villa-Lobos, Mignone and Guarneri, who radically transformed the landscape of Brazilian classical music and shaped future generations of composers. Lorenzo Fernandez was essentially a miniaturist, with many of his piano pieces being both richly inventive and short in duration. From the Iberian sonorities of earlier pieces such as the expansive Noturno, via the nationalist flavours of the Suítes Brasileiras, to his final piano work, the technically challenging Sonata Breve, Lorenzo Fernandez’s refined sophistication and originality can be heard in every piece.
III. Allegro scherzoso
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Clélia Iruzun, a celebrated Brazilian pianist based in London, studied at the Escola de Música in Rio de Janeiro and the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she won major prizes. She is noted for her wide-ranging repertoire, which includes more than thirty piano concertos. She has worked with renowned artists such as Nelson Freire, Jacques Klein, Fou Ts’ong and Stephen Kovacevich, and many prominent composers, including Francisco Mignone and Marlos Nobre, have dedicated works to her. She is a frequent performer across Europe, the Americas and Asia, including broadcasts on radio and television.
– Fanfare
– MusicWeb International
– American Record Guide
Piano Works
Sverner
– Gramophone