SCHMITT
COMPLETE ORIGINAL WORKS
FOR PIANO DUET AND DUO • 4
HUMORESQUES, OP. 43
LIED ET SCHERZO, OP. 54
TROIS PIÈCES RÉCRÉATIVES, OP. 37
UNE SEMAINE DU PETIT ELFE FERME–L’ŒIL, OP. 58

"Along with the unabashedly charming and witty Humoresques and Trois pièces récréatives, this final CD contains two of Schmitt’s most salient masterpieces—Lied et scherzo and Une semaine du petit elfe Ferme–l’œil—providing an exhilarating conclusion to this ambitious set. As we approach the closing stages of this incredible journey, we look back with gratitude to those who have helped make this project a reality."

– Andrey Kasparov & Oksana Lutsyshyn

Listen to:

 

FLORENT SCHMITT
© Photo Lipnitzki/Roger-Viollet		   ABOUT THIS RELEASE

Florent Schmitt was one of the most important of all French composers, an individualist who defies the simplicities of classification. The last of this four-disc series explores Schmitt’s Humoresques, Op. 43, a cycle full of unexpected and witty twists, as well as the visionary Lied et scherzo, Op. 54. His gift for characterisation is always evident, not least in Trois pièces récréatives, Op. 37  which is strongly spiced with humour. The set concludes with Une semaine du petit elfe Ferme–l’œil, Op. 58, one of Schmitt’s best–known masterworks.

Lied et scherzo, Op. 54 and Trois pièces récréatives, Op. 37, are world première recordings.

HUMORESQUES, OP. 43 (17:27)
1  I. Marche militaire (03:14)
2  II. Rondeau (01:18)
3  III. Bucolique (04:45)
4  IV. Scherzetto (02:28)
5  V. Valse sentimentale (03:20)
6  VI. Danse grotesqu (02:22)

7 LIED ET SCHERZO, OP. 54 (10:59) *

3 PIÈCES RÉCRÉATIVES, OP. 37 (04:26) *
8  I. Quadrille (01:33)
9  II. Gavotte (01:25)
10  III. Marche (01:28)

  

UNE SEMAINE DU PETIT ELFE FERME–L’ŒIL, OP. 58 (23:37)
11  I. La noce des souris (02:59)
12  II. Le cigogne lasse (04:18)
13  III. Le cheval de Ferme–l’oeil (01:43)
14  IV. Le mariage de la poupée Berthe (04:48)
15  V. La ronde des lettres boiteuse (01:23)
16  VI. La promenade à travers le tableau (04:38)
17  VII. Le parapluie chinoi (03:48)

*   World Première Recordings  

TOTAL TIME: 56:29
THE INVENCIA PIANO DUO
© Glen McClure
 
In the recording studio with engineer Steven Latham and piano technician Henry Faivre
   
ABOUT THE ARTISTS

The Invencia Piano Duo has won high critical acclaim for its compelling interpretations of a vast and diverse repertoire. Hailing from Armenian and Ukrainian families, Andrey Kasparov and Oksana Lutsyshyn were educated at the Moscow State Conservatory before moving to Indiana University’s School of Music in Bloomington to pursue advanced studies. They presently make their home in the United States and serve on the faculty at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Additionally, they are Artistic Co–Directors of the Norfolk Chamber Consort. Kasparov and Lutsyshyn are critically acclaimed recording artists. Both members of the duo are recipients of prestigious awards. Lutsyshyn was a prizewinner at the Vienna Modern Masters Third International Performers’ Recording Awards Competition in 1997 and the William Kapell International Piano Competition in College Park, Maryland in 1990. As a result of the latter, she made her début at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Kasparov won the Albert Roussel Prize at the Orléans International Piano Competition in 1998. In 1994 Kasparov gave the première of the newly discovered edition of Béla Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 3, revised by the composer himself. In addition to his career as a pianist, Kasparov is an active composer whose works have been published and recorded by the Kompozitor Publishing House in Moscow and the Atlantic Music Artist Agency in Kiev, among many others. His awards include a prize from the Sergey Prokofiev International Composition Competition in Moscow in 1997 for his Piano Sonata No. 2.

Watch The Invencia Piano Duo play: Trois pièces récréatives, Op.37 

PREVIOUS RELEASES IN THE SERIES
GP621
"[...] rarely has one heard piano music in such spectacularly good sound as in this Schmitt recording. An outstanding production!"
– Piano News

"Schmitt’s extensive oeuvre for two pianists could have no better musicians..."
– American Record Guide
 
 
GP622   GP623
"Invencia’s elegance and telepathic sense of timing make for a highly satisfying brace of recitals. – 2013 MusicWeb International   "Technical perfection, synchronicity, collaboration as well as a warm and sonorous timbre constitute an interpretation which is as perfect as the music itself."
– Classica

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