Lignes Parallèles by Julien Libeer | Les Métamorphoses

Joseph Haydn, Dinu Lipatti, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Julien Libeer | Les Métamorphoses | Raphaël Feye

Lignes Parallèles

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Evil Penguin
UPC: 0608917721607
Catnr: EPRC 0029
Release date: 02 November 2018
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Label
Evil Penguin

UPC
0608917721607

Catalogue number
EPRC 0029

Release date
02 November 2018

"Few remember the early dead pianist Dinu Lipatti as a composer. But for the 32-year-old Belgian Julien Libeer he was an inspiration from his youth on. And so he decided to juxtapose the Concertino in the classical style of Haydn and Mozart, written at Lipatti's teenage age - an interesting idea... "

Piano News, 11-4-2019

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

Press

About the album

On his second release for Evil Penguin, Belgian piano prodigy Julien Libeer teams up with the new ensemble Les Métamorphoses to contrast authentic and neo guises of 18th century music. The true classicists are featured on this disc with unusually restrained work: Haydn’s Passion Symphony no. 49 is broodingly solemn, Mozart’s last piano concerto no. 27 deceptively intimate.
These repertoire icons are coupled to Dino Lipatti’s crystalline Concertino in the Classical Style (1936), which sheds neo-classical light on the vintage idiom. When Lipatti (1917-1950) died at the age of 33, he was already a piano legend: Poulenc found “divine spirituality” in his playing, and Enescu believed his godchild was “born with a star above his head”. The Concertino is audibly indebted to Bach and Scarlatti, but there are dashes of Stravinsky, as well as a foretaste of Bela Bartók’s language.

Libeer’s fusion of older and newer worlds is not limited to the programme of this record. Although Les Métamorphoses typically play on modern instruments (albeit with the greatest possible respect for the respective sonorities of different eras), they engaged natural horns and wooden transverse flutes for period colour and crisp.

The solo piano also represents the best of both worlds: the Concert grand with parallel strings (which Chris Maene originally built for Daniel Barenboim) combines pianoforte possibilities – clearly distinguishable voices and colour across registers – with the technical advantages and playing comfort of a modern Steinway. The result, says Julien Libeer, is an instrument “which speaks as beautifully as it sings”.

For Libeer, this new recording represents the next stage in a brilliant, but unusual career. Although the pianist consciously steers clear of the competition circuit, he obtained an impressive range of awards (including Young Musician of the Year 2010 from the Belgian national broadcaster Klara). His first solo record Lignes Claires featured work by Ravel and Lipatti and was highly acclaimed in the press (5 Diapasons). His second album (with Lorenzo Gatto, in violin sonatas by Beethoven) received the Diapason d’Or of the year 2016.
The present recording is Julien Libeer’s first orchestral release. It was recorded in the generous acoustics of the Concertgebouw Brugge.

Lignes Parallèles trailer

De Belgische pianist Julien Libeer, speelt op dit album voor het eerst samen met het nieuwe ensemble Les Métamorphoses. Het samenbrengen van de muziek van Joseph Haydn, Dinu Lipatti en Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart zorgt voor een verrassend programma vol tegenstellingen met authentieke en nieuwe uitvoeringen van 18e-eeuwse muziek.

Gouden combinatie

Pianist Libeer en het orkest vormen een gouden combinatie en hebben duidelijk affiniteit met deze muziek. De stukken van de grote componisten zijn enigszins terughoudend van aard, Haydns Symfonie no. 49 La Passione klinkt broeiend maar statig en Mozarts laatste pianoconcert no. 27 is bedrieglijk intiem. Deze twee iconische klassiekers zijn samengevoegd met het vrij onbekende Concertino in the Classical Style, waarin Dino Lipatti een neoklassiek licht werpt op het aloude en eerbiedwaardige idioom. Lipatti's Concertino is hoorbaar schatplichtig aan Bach en Scarlatti, maar er vallen ook zweempjes Stravinsky in de muziek te bekennen, evenals een voorproefje van Bela Bartóks muzikale taal.

Oude en nieuwe muziek op oude en nieuwe instrumenten

De samensmelting van oude en nieuwe werelden doet geen afbreuk aan de muziek op dit album. Les Métamorphoses speelt gewoonlijk op moderne instrumenten, weliswaar met het grootst mogelijke respect voor de klanken uit de verschillende eeuwen. Om te zorgen voor een authentieke kleur en frisheid heeft het orkest voor dit programma ook historische houten instrumenten ingezet, als hoorns en dwarsfluiten.

Julie Libeer tovert sprankelende klanken uit de concertvleugel met parallelle snaren, gebouwd door Chris Maene. Het instrument vertegenwoordigt het beste uit twee werelden: het combineert de mogelijkheden van het klavecimbel met zijn duidelijk herkenbare stemmen en kleuren in alle registers, met de technische voordelen en het speelcomfort van een moderne Steinway. "Het resultaat is een instrument dat net zo wondermooi spreekt als het zingt", aldus de pianist.

In seiner zweiten Veröffentlichung für Evil Penguin tat sich das belgische Wunderkind Julien Libeer mit dem neuen Ensemble Les Métamorphoses zusammen, um authentische und neuartige Formen von Musik des 18. Jahrhunderts gegenüberzustellen. Die wahren Klassiker hört man auf dieser Scheibe mit ungewohnt zurückhaltenden Werken: Haydns Passionssymphonie (Nr. 49) ist brütend-feierlich, Mozarts letztes Klavierkonzert (Nr. 27) trügerisch intim. Diese Repertoire-Ikonen werden verbunden mit Dino Lipattis kristallartigem Concertino in the Classical Style (1936), das das altehrwürdige Idiom in neoklassischem Licht zeigt. Als Lipatti (1917-1950) im Alter von nur 33 Jahren starb, war er bereits eine Legende am Klavier: Poulenc fand göttliche Spiritualität in seinem Spiel, und Enescu glaubte, dass sein Patenkind mit einem Stern über seinem Kopf geboren worden war. Das Concertino steht hörbar in Bachs und Scarlattis Schuld, doch es finden sich darin auch ein paar Spritzer von Strawinsky sowie ein Vorgeschmack auf Bela Bartóks Musiksprache.

Libeers Fusion von alter und neuer Welt beschränkt sich nicht auf das Programm dieser CD. Obwohl Les Métamorphoses gewöhnlicherweise auf modernen Instrumenten spielen (wenngleich mit größtmöglichem Respekt für die jeweiligen Klanglichkeiten verschiedener Epochen, wurden Naturhörner und Traversflöten aus Holz engagiert, um für authentische Farbe und Frische zu sorgen.

Das Soloklavier repräsentiert ebenfalls das Beste aus beiden Welten: der Konzertflügel mit parallelen Saiten (den Chris Maene ursprünglich für Daniel Barenboim gebaut hat) kombiniert Möglichkeiten des Pianoforte – klar erkennbare Stimmen und Farben in allen Registern – mit den technischen Vorteilen und dem Spielkomfort eines modernen Steinways. Das Ergebnis, so Julien Libeer, ist ein Instrument, „das so wunderschön spricht wie es singt“.

Für Libeer ist diese Aufnahme der nächste Schritt in einer brillanten, aber ungewöhnlichen Karriere. Obwohl Libeer sich dem Wettbewerbsgeschehen bewusst fernhält, wurden ihm eine beeindruckende Reihe Preise verliehen (einschließlich „Young Musician oft he Year 2010“ des belgischen Nationalsenders Klara). Sein erstes Soloalbum Lignes Claires beinhaltet Werke von Ravel und Lipatti und wurde von der Presse hoch gelobt (5 Diapason d’Or). Sein zweites Album (mit Lorenzo Gatto in Violinsonaten von Beethoven) erhielt den Diapason d’Or 2016.
Die vorliegende Aufnahme ist Julien Libeers erste Orchesterveröffentlichung, aufgenommen in der großzügigen Akkustik des Concertgebouw in Brügge.

- Enregistrement sur piano à cordes parallèles à la sonorité originale et particulière inspirée par les pianoforte anciens et qui correspond au style classique et néo-classique.
- Julien Libeer, pianiste belge en pleine expansion au jeu très clair.
- Le Concertino dans le style classique de Dinu Lipatti qui est quasiment inconnu.
- Le son de l’orchestre dirigé par Raphael Feye, inspiré des orchestres baroques qui s’associe parfaitement au piano aux cordes parallèles.

Artist(s)

Julien Libeer (piano)

“The complete musician, who unites, at any musical moment, a true understanding of the piece, a solid intellectual approach and an infallible instinct for the impalpable.” - Maria João Pires Born in 1987 near Brussels, Belgium, Julien Libeer’s earliest musical memory was the famous documentary on the recording of West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein. The piano, which he took up at age six, quickly became the faithful companion for expressing a love of music that, until today, thrives as much on opera, orchestra and chamber music as on the piano repertoire.
For five decisive years, French-Polish pedagogue Jean Fassina was the patient, demanding, wise teacher that any aspiring musician should have the chance to encounter. This experience was followed by the equally intense collaboration with Maria João Pires at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, whose advice and support strongly infl uenced Julien Libeer’s views over the last years, and continue to do so.
Julien Libeer has been a regular guest of Flagey and the Palais des Beaux- Arts in Brussels, the Théâtre de la Ville (Paris), the Juventus Festival and the Abu Dhabi Music Festival. A member of Maria Joao Pires’ Partitura project, he has recently made his debut in such venues as the London Barbican Hall, the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, Barcelona’s Palau de la Musica and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Upcoming invitations include a Japan tour and performances at the Miami International Piano Festival, among others. An accomplished chamber musician, he performs with Lorenzo Gatto, Camille Thomas, Augustin Dumay, Maria João Pires, Frank Braley, to name just a few.
Julien Libeer has studied piano with Daniel Blumenthal (Royal Conservatory of Brussels), Jean Fassina (Paris), and is an associate artist of the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, where he also specialized in chamber music with the members of the Artemis Quartet. Furthermore, he has received the advice of Dmitry Bashkirov, Alfred Brendel, Abdel Rahman El Bacha and Gerhard Schulz (Alban Berg Quartet).
He has received the Juventus prize (most promising young European soloist) in 2008, and was elected Young Musician of the Year by the Belgian Music Press Association in 2010. The Klara award 2013 was attributed to him by the audience of the national radio for classical music.
Much appreciated for his eloquence, Julien Libeer is a regular guest of media at home and abroad. His work has been subject of a TV documentary (“Technique doesn’t exist”, 2013), also available on YouTube.
Based in Brussels, he spends most of his free time reading, swimming or enjoying a good series, and is actively engaged in a number of social projects, all rooted in the idea that music, far beyond its esthetic value, can be a force of change for anyone ready to listen.

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Les Métamorphoses

Raphaël Feye (conductor)

Composer(s)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose actual name is Joannes Chrysotomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a composer, pianist, violinist and conductor from the classical period, born in Salzburg. Mozart was a child prodigy. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. Along with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven, Mozart is considered to be one of the most influential composers of all of music's history. Within the classical tradition, he was able to develop new musical concepts which left an everlasting impression on all the composers that came after him. Together with Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven he is part of the First Viennese School. At 17, Mozart was engaged as a musician at the Salzburg court, but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position. From 1763 he traveled with his family through all of Europe for three years and from 1769 he traveled to Italy and France with his father Leopold after which he took residence in Paris. On July 3rd, 1778, his mother passed away and after a short stay in Munich with the Weber family, his father urged him to return to Salzburg, where he was once again hired by the Bishop. While visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He chose to stay in the capital, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of his death.

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Dinu Lipatti

Joseph Haydn

(Franz) Joseph Haydn was a prolific Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the piano trio and his contributions to musical form have earned him the epithets 'Father of the Symphony' and 'Father of the String Quartet'. Haydn spent much of his career as a court musician for the wealthy Esterházy family at their remote estate. Until the later part of his life, this isolated him from other composers and trends in music so that he was, as he put it, 'forced to become original'. Yet his music circulated widely and for much of his career he was the most celebrated composer in Europe. He was a friend and mentor of Mozart,...

(Franz) Joseph Haydn was a prolific Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the piano trio and his contributions to musical form have earned him the epithets "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet".
Haydn spent much of his career as a court musician for the wealthy Esterházy family at their remote estate. Until the later part of his life, this isolated him from other composers and trends in music so that he was, as he put it, "forced to become original". Yet his music circulated widely and for much of his career he was the most celebrated composer in Europe.
He was a friend and mentor of Mozart, a teacher of Beethoven, with whom he formed the First Viennese School. He was also the older brother of composer Michael Haydn.

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Press

Few remember the early dead pianist Dinu Lipatti as a composer. But for the 32-year-old Belgian Julien Libeer he was an inspiration from his youth on. And so he decided to juxtapose the Concertino in the classical style of Haydn and Mozart, written at Lipatti's teenage age - an interesting idea...
Piano News, 11-4-2019

Beautifully modest design in a nice cardboard case. The booklet is easy to browse. But not only the eye, the ear will be satisfied with refreshing recordings, full of speed.
Pianist, 26-2-2019

9 Albums that deserved more attention during this past year
De Standaard, 19-12-2018

Lignes Claires and Lignes Parallèles are not only two beautiful CDs on which Julien Libeer proves himself as a master pianist, together with the beautiful ensemble Les Métamorphoses and conductor Raphaël Feye. They are distinguished by the loving commitment to the composer Dinu Lipatti. Listen to the opening part of the Concertino once and you are sold.
Opus Klassiek, 01-12-2018

***** - The music remains elegant and sparkling from start to finish, and Libeer clearly has a great affinity with it.
De Volkskrant, 15-11-2018