Debussy: Etudes, Martyre de saint Sébastien Philippe Bianconi

• Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918): 12 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 1:
• 112 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 1: I. Pour les "cinq doigts", d'après Monsieur Czerny03:17
• 212 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 1: II. Pour les tierces. Moderato ma non troppo03:38
• 312 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 1: III. Pour les quartes. Andantino con moto05:06
• 412 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 1: IV. Pour les sixtes. Lento04:13
• 512 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 1: V. Pour les octaves. Joyeux et emporté, librement rythmé02:54
• 612 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 1: VI. Pour les huit doigts. Vivamente, molto leggiero e legato01:49
• 12 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 2:
• 712 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 2: VII. Pour les degrés chromatiques. Scherzando, animato assai02:23
• 812 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 2: VIII. Pour les agréments. Lento, rubato e leggiero05:22
• 912 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 2: IX. Pour les notes répétées. Scherzando03:28
• 1012 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 2: X. Pour les sonorités opposées. Modéré, sans lenteur05:25
• 1112 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 2: XI. Pour les arpèges composés04:54
• 1212 Etudes, L. 136, Livre 2: XII. Pour les accords. Décidé, rythmé, sans lourdeur04:54
• Claude Debussy:
• 13Élégie, L. 13802:21
• Le Martyre de saint Sébastien, L. 124:
• 14Le Martyre de saint Sébastien, L. 124: I. La Cour des Lys. Prélude (transcription André Caplet)03:59
• 15Le Martyre de saint Sébastien, L. 124: II. Danse extatique (transcription André Caplet)02:57
• 16Le Martyre de saint Sébastien, L. 124: III. La Chambre magique (transcription André Caplet)03:10
• 17Le Martyre de saint Sébastien, L. 124: IV. La Passion (transcription André Caplet)04:07
• 18Le Martyre de saint Sébastien, L. 124: V. Le Laurier blessé (transcription André Caplet)02:18
• 19Le Martyre de saint Sébastien, L. 124: VI. Le Bon Pasteur (transcription André Caplet)02:37
• Claude Debussy:
• 20Les Soirs illuminés par l'ardeur du charbon, CD. 15002:25
• Total Runtime01:11:17

Info for Debussy: Etudes, Martyre de saint Sébastien

Philippe Bianconi offers from these late but essential pages a clear and limpid reading, served by a remarkable energy. Beyond their formidable technical challenge, even experimental, the Etudes - dedicated to Chopin, whom Debussy revered - reveal themselves under his fingers, poetry, rhythm and colour.

As a complement to the programme, the two final pieces of his work, as well as those of the suite from the Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, show a different face of Debussy, spiritual, stripped and poignant.

Philippe Bianconi, piano

Philippe Bianconi
Since winning at the Van Cliburn International Competition in the 1980s, Philippe Bianconi has been leading an international career, pursuing his musical itinerary and patiently carving out his path far from the media hype.

He has been hailed in the press for playing that is 'always close to the soul of the music, filling the space with poetry and life' (Washington Post), for 'his lyricism and his lofty vision . . . powerful playing that makes the piano sing even in forceful virtuoso passages . . . a very colourful sound' (Le Figaro), and '[an] extraordinary exhibition of musicianship and technical control [that] lends the music a freshness, immediacy and conviction one all too seldom encounters' (The Times).

A pupil of Simone Delbert-Février at the Conservatoire in Nice, where he was born, Philippe Bianconi is the only major French pianist to have entered the international competition circuit without previously studying at the Paris Conservatoire. His prizes at the Jeunesses Musicales International Competition in Belgrade, the Robert Casadesus International Competition in Cleveland, and notably the Van Cliburn Competition were his launching pads for a brilliant career in North America. He appeared at Carnegie Hall in New York in 1987, and went on play with many of the leading North American orchestras, including Cleveland, Chicago, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Montreal. His career then took on a worldwide dimension, and from Berlin to Sydney, Beijing to London, Paris to San Francisco, he has received high praise for the poetry of his playing and the beauty of his tone.

Philippe Bianconi is an enthusiastic chamber musician, and plays with numerous prestigious partners. His love of the voice is reflected in his recordings of the three great Schubert song cycles, Die schöne Müllerin, Winterreise, and Schwanengesang, with the baritone Hermann Prey.

The release of his disc of Debussy's Préludes on La Dolce Volta was one of the major recording events of the year 2012, winning a deluge of international distinctions and a nomination at the Victoires de la Musique Classique in the category 'Recording of the Year'.

Since 2014 Philippe Bianconi has been musical director of the American Conservatory of Fontainebleau (part of the Fontainebleau Schools, a French institution whose mission is to give foreign students a thorough grounding in French culture in the twin spheres of music and architecture), after such distinguished predecessors as Philippe Entremont and Nadia Boulanger, who trained the elite of American composers, among them Aaron Copland, Elliot Carter, Virgil Thomson, Astor Piazzolla, Philip Glass, and Quincy Jones.

Booklet for Debussy: Etudes, Martyre de saint Sébastien