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Classica,
February 2005 But John Owings goes even further in the Twenty-Four Préludes, the Six Enfantines, the Impromptu op.67 #4 and the Toccata op 40. If he knows how to be vigorous and aggressive in the Toccata, he also demonstrates remarkable poetry and subtlety in the Twenty-four Préludes and the Six Enfantines. Although they were the work of a young artist, the Préludes are real jewels of fantasy and poetry, kaleidoscopic miniatures of variegated moods and colors. In those early works, you can already find all the composer’s themes, which are so well adapted to the principles of cycles of small pieces. The absence of development and melodic verve is no longer an issue here. Under John Owings’s fingers, with his round and warm sound, energetic and gentle, this cycle unquestionably stands out as one of the very few masterpieces of post-Ravelian French piano music. Here, the pianist exhibits nothing but qualities: apart from those mentioned above, the articulation is excellent and precise and the use of the pedal is a perfection of subtlety and precision. Perhaps adding a touch of wildness in some of the preludes would be welcome. But after the Twenty-Four Préludes, the Six Enfantines ultimately wins over the listener. So, in the end, should you own only one disk of Casadesus the composer, let it be this one. Antoine Mignon Translated
by Noelle Katcher |
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