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Extase
Alexander Scriabin

Michèle Gurdal

Extase

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917264029
Catnr: CC 72640
Release date: 02 May 2014
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Label
Challenge Classics
UPC
0608917264029
Catalogue number
CC 72640
Release date
02 May 2014

"The belgian-japanese artist has learned her handicraft from the scratch and captivates here with elegant dexterity. (...) Vast sophisticated and colourfull."

Fono Forum, 14-1-2015
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Artist(s)
Composer(s)
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About the album

Michéle Gurdal:
The word ecstasy designates something very sensuous and soulful at the same time. It is important to know that with Scriabin ecstasy is firstly of a spiritual nature, but secondly also involves erotic tension. By taking the title “Extase” I want to draw attention to this aspect in his music, because many etudes of Scriabin’s are permeated with his striving towards a state of ecstasy. From a certain point in time onwards Scriabin’s entire musical oeuvre was actually directed towards reaching a state of absolute ecstasy. His plan was – similar to Wagner – to create a Gesamtkunstwerk, a synaesthetic, total work of art, into which all the senses are drawn.
The etudes are technically very demanding works, and it is particularly the virtuosity needed for these works that enables us to express Scriabin’s passion. His etudes are therefore much more than finger exercises. They are fantastic, multifaceted works, each with its own character and individual, often poetic contents.

In general we distinguish three phases of creativity. The twelve etudes Opus 8 were all composed around 1894/95. His compositions of this period are still very romantic. These works abound in young, rapturous energy but are all completely different in character. Scriabin alternates here between dolorous melancholy and poignant powers of expression. The eight etudes Opus 42 which he wrote around nine years later belong to Scriabin’s middle creative period. These are distinct from the first period because of their augmented harmonic language. He modulates more now and resolves dissonances later. Thus we hear newer, more suspenseful images of sound. The etudes Opus 65 belong to Scriabin’s last creative period. Now his music is reminiscent already of the free-tonal works of the Second Viennese School of Schoenberg, Berg and Webern.

Scriabins études vertolkt op zijn favoriete vleugel
Scriabins études worden op dit album gepresenteerd door Michèle Gurdal. Ze overspannen zijn gehele carrière en markeren zijn muzikale ontwikkelingen op duidelijke wijze. Scriabins vroege Chopin-achtige composities leverden hem de bijnaam ‘Russische Chopin’ op.

Michèle Gurdal is een briljante jonge Belgische pianiste. Toen ze slechts negen jaar oud was, speelde ze de solopartij in Joseph Haydns Pianoconcert in G majeur met het Belgisch Kamerorkest live op de Belgische televisie. Op 17-jarige leeftijd voltooide zij haar conservatoriumopleiding in Brussel. Ze is gespecialiseerd in de muziek van Scriabin en voert de werken op dit album uit op een Bechstein vleugel—Scriabins favoriet.

Michèle Gurdal - eine junge Expertin für die Werke Skrjabins.

Michèle Yuki Gurdal entstammt einer belgisch-japanischen Familie und wurde innerhalb dieser in jungen Jahren gefördert. Das talentierte Mädchen stand bereits mit 9 Jahren auf dem Konzertpodium, schloss mit 17 ihr Studium am Konservatorium in Brüssel ab und belegte Meisterkurse bei Homero Francesch und Anatol Ugorski.

Michèle Gurdal verfügt über ein breit gefächertes Repertoire mit Schwerpunkt auf der Musik Alexander Skrjabins. Im Alter von 10 Jahren hörte sie Vladimir Horowitz mit der Etüde op. 2 Nr. 1 und wurde seitdem nach eigenen Angaben „magisch“ von der Musik angezogen.

Den pianistischen und musikalischen Herausforderungen der Etüden von Skrjabin stellte sich Michèle Gurdal in zahlreichen Konzerten und erkannte, dass auch das Publikum von den facettenreichen Stücken mitgerissen werden kann.
Die Pianistin interpretiert die anspruchsvollen Werke auf einem C. Bechstein-Konzertflügel. Skrjabin selber besaß einen dieser Flügel und bevorzugte den durchsichtigen, eleganten und warmen Klang.

Artist(s)

Michèle Gurdal

The pianist Michèle Gurdal is a “rare, authentic Romantic” (Dimitir Bashkirov). She is appraised for her rich cultivation of sound, her art of “opening far-reaching spaces of sound for the audience” also for “her interpretations, as sensitive as they are thrilling, which immerse the listener deeply into the atmospheric worlds conjured up by the music” (Rondo magazine).   Michèle Gurdal was only nine years of age when she played the solo in Joseph Haydn’s Piano Concerto in G Major with the Belgian Chamber Orchestra live on Belgian television. At the age of eleven she played the Impromptu Op. 90 no.4 by Franz Schubert on French television (FR3) with a musicality and power of expression that were astonishingly mature for her age. She was much praised for this interpretation by the conductor...
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The pianist Michèle Gurdal is a “rare, authentic Romantic” (Dimitir Bashkirov). She is appraised for her rich cultivation of sound, her art of “opening far-reaching spaces of sound for the audience” also for “her interpretations, as sensitive as they are thrilling, which immerse the listener deeply into the atmospheric worlds conjured up by the music” (Rondo magazine).
Michèle Gurdal was only nine years of age when she played the solo in Joseph Haydn’s Piano Concerto in G Major with the Belgian Chamber Orchestra live on Belgian television. At the age of eleven she played the Impromptu Op. 90 no.4 by Franz Schubert on French television (FR3) with a musicality and power of expression that were astonishingly mature for her age. She was much praised for this interpretation by the conductor Jean-Claude Casadesus: “she has gold in her fingers”.
By the age of seventeen she had already completed her studies at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles in piano, chamber music and music history with the Diplom de Premier Prix. She studied with Professor Karl-Heinz Kämmerling at the University of Music and Theatre in Hanover, then in the master class of Homero Francesch in Zurich (concert diploma with highest distinction) and in conclusion with Professor Anatol Ugorski at the University of Music in Detmold, completed with her concert examination.
In 2005 she won the scholarship for the “International Piano Academy Lake Como”. In addition she was awarded the scholarship of the Wilhelm Kempff Foundation, focusing on an in-depth study – together with John O’Connor –of the work of Ludwig van Beethoven.
Since her ninth birthday her concert career as a soloist and chamber musician has taken her throughout Europe, also Canada and the USA. Among Michèle Gurdal’s appearances most worthy of mentions are concerts in the Gewandhaus Leipzig, Tonhalle Zurich, Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Eglise de Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris, Theater Ghione in Rome, Laeiszhalle Hamburg and the Berlin Philharmonie. She performed as a soloist with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra at the Ruhr Piano Festival and among others with the Orchestre National de Belgique, the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie and with the Cordoba Symphony Orchestra on Spanish and also Italian television (RAI3).
Michèle Gurdal avails of an extensive repertoire with a strong focus on the music of Alexander Scriabin. In 2010 a CD was released juxtaposing the 24 Preludes of Frédéric Chopin with those of Alexander Scriabin (Kaliedos 2010). In February 2014 a CD came out with chamber music by Robert Schumann (Vlad Records), in which she performed with the violist Máté Szücs and the clarinettist Vlad Weverbergh. In Mai 2014 the CD „Extase“ with Etudes from A. Scriabin (Challenge Records) was released and received rave reviews among others by the the gramophone magazine as an editor‘s choice.
Michèle Yuki Gurdal comes from a Belgian-Japanese family and lives in Berlin.

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Composer(s)

Alexander Scriabin

Alexander Scriabin was a Russian composer and pianist. He began playing the piano at the age of five, but received his first lessons only at the age of eleven. He could not play from sight, but studied the score and played the compositions by heart afterwards. He was also a gifted improviser. During the rest of his live Scriabin made a living as a composer and concert pianist.He established contracts with publishers and also had a patron in his former student Margarita Morozova for some time. In addition, he annually won a money prize in the context of the Glinka-prize for new compositions that was set up by Beljajev. Scriabin primarily wrote for solo piano and orchestra. His music progressively evolved over...
more
Alexander Scriabin was a Russian composer and pianist. He began playing the piano at the age of five, but received his first lessons only at the age of eleven. He could not play from sight, but studied the score and played the compositions by heart afterwards. He was also a gifted improviser.
During the rest of his live Scriabin made a living as a composer and concert pianist.He established contracts with publishers and also had a patron in his former student Margarita Morozova for some time. In addition, he annually won a money prize in the context of the Glinka-prize for new compositions that was set up by Beljajev.
Scriabin primarily wrote for solo piano and orchestra. His music progressively evolved over the course of his life, although the evolution was very rapid and especially brief when compared to most composers. His earliest piano pieces resemble those of Frédéric Chopin. The works from his middle and late period use very unusual harmonies and textures.
From 1904 till 1910 Scriabin lived in western Europe, primarily in Switzerland, but also in northern Italy, Paris and Brussels. After his return to Russia he found himself in the middle of a circle of admirers who were attracted to his exalted and mystic ideas. During the last years of his life he worked on a grandiose manifestation, a Gesamtkunstwerk, Mysterium, in which all arts and all people would have been united. He left only sketches of the prelude to this piece (L'action préalable) and large amounts of text.

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Press

The belgian-japanese artist has learned her handicraft from the scratch and captivates here with elegant dexterity. (...) Vast sophisticated and colourfull.
Fono Forum, 14-1-2015

"The dynamic range is rich, generous, and the rubato and everything is exquisite"
Luister, 01-10-2014

Editor's choice Michèle Gurdal impressively demonstrates the assured technical command and ability to respond to swift contrasts in style required in playing Scriabin`s music
Gramophone, 01-9-2014

...leaves almost nothing to be desired.
Piano News, 01-9-2014

It is good that a young pianist shows such complete artistic armor.
Musicalifeiten, 08-5-2014

Both the label Challenge Classics and the  pianist deserve a compliment for the chosen repertoire. This is not easy music, neither for the performer nor the audience. But when played on this issue, technical challenges become pure poetry.
Opus Klassiek, 07-5-2014

Play album Play album
01.
Etudes Op. 2: No.1 in C sharp minor, Andante
02:58
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
02.
Etudes Op. 8: No.1 in C sharp major, Allegro
01:45
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
03.
Etudes Op. 8: No.2 in F sharp minor, A capriccio con forza
01:56
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
04.
Etudes Op. 8: No.3 in B minor, Tempestoso
02:03
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
05.
Etudes Op. 8: No.4 in B major, Piacevole
01:44
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
06.
Etudes Op. 8: No.5 in E major, Brioso
02:12
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
07.
Etudes Op. 8: No.6 in A major, Con Grazia
01:50
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
08.
Etudes Op. 8: No.7 in B flat minor, Presto tenebroso, agitato
01:59
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
09.
Etudes Op. 8: No.8 in A flat major, Lento (Tempo rubato)
03:34
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
10.
Etudes Op. 8: No.9 in G sharp minor, Alla Ballata
04:33
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
11.
Etudes Op. 8: No.10 in D flat major, Allegro
01:57
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
12.
Etudes Op. 8: No.11 in B flat minor, Andante cantabile
04:06
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
13.
Etudes Op. 8: No.12 in D sharp minor, Patetico
02:26
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
14.
Etudes Op. 42: No.1 in D flat major, Presto
01:58
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
15.
Etudes Op. 42: No.2 in F sharp minor
00:53
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
16.
Etudes Op. 42: No.3 in F sharp major, Prestissimo
01:00
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
17.
Etudes Op. 42: No.4 in F sharp major, Andante
02:26
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
18.
Etudes Op. 42: No.5 in C sharp minor, Affanato
03:12
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
19.
Etudes Op. 42: No.6 in D flat major, Esaltato
01:53
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
20.
Etudes Op. 42: No.7 in F minor, Agitato
00:57
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
21.
Etudes Op. 42: No.8 in E flat major, Allegro
02:18
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
22.
Etudes Op. 65: No.2, Allegretto
02:00
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
23.
EEtudes Op. 65: N0.3, Molto vivace
01:58
(Alexander Scriabin) Michèle Gurdal
show all tracks

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