1 CD |
€ 19.95
|
Preorder |
Label Challenge Classics |
UPC 0608917200515 |
Catalogue number CC 720051 |
Release date 16 January 2026 |
In The Hidden Legacy, Italian pianist Alessandro Deljavan explores the restless imagination and expressive daring of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788), a composer who bridged the worlds of Baroque complexity and Classical clarity. The program traverses the vast emotional and stylistic landscape of C. P. E. Bach’s keyboard works—from the introspective Fantasias and fiery Rondos to the refined Sonatas—revealing the composer’s pioneering embrace of Empfindsamkeit, the “sensitive style” that sought to mirror human emotion in all its volatility. Deljavan’s interpretations illuminate the dramatic contrasts and psychological depth of this music, turning each piece into a vivid, unpredictable narrative that feels as alive today as it was two centuries ago.
Deljavan’s artistry combines intellectual precision with fearless emotional spontaneity. His phrasing, pacing, and use of silence elevate Bach’s mercurial spirit into something immediate and human. The recording presents not just a historical tribute but a living dialogue between composer and performer—a meditation on creativity, freedom, and feeling. In this album, Deljavan continues his lifelong mission to “touch the heart,” capturing the tension, tenderness, and transcendence that make C. P. E. Bach’s legacy both hidden and essential.
Italian pianist Alessandro Deljavan has been astonishing audiences for more than two decades. Acknowledgements began at the age of nine when he won the prestigious Concours musical de France (1st Prize, Paris, 1996). He is embraced for his remarkable prowess and emotional intensity by audiences and colleagues alike.
“Deljavan played Chopin’s B minor Etude with jaw dropping virtuosity and heart-stopping eloquence.” —Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News
A prolific recording artist, Alessandro Deljavan has recorded more than 70 albums from the solo and chamber music repertoire. Of his recording of the Chopin complete Études Pizzicato.lu wrote:
“Technically brilliant and with an exceptional imagination, Alessandro Deljavan brings finesse and spontaneity to Chopin’s Etudes.”
“A concert which only confirms the genuine talent and colossal power of this Italian pianist who we’d like to hear more often in Brussels.” —les chroniques du piano
Born of an Italian mother and Persian father, Alessandro Deljavan began learning to play piano before the age of two and gave his first performances at age three.
He has since performed around the world in more than 20 countries including in Austria, Belgium, China, Columbia, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Montenegro, South Korea, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.
“Deljavan’s performance was revelatory in every respect. Everyone in the hall knew that they were hearing something special—something wonderful—from the very first notes. At the end, the spontaneous eruption of cheers was so different from the perfunctory ovation that any decent performance is awarded, that being a part of the thrilled crowd was a unique experience in itself.” —Gregory Sullivan Isaacs, Theater Jones
“Alessandro Deljavan performed in the most stunningly beautiful and expressive way that no one who was there will forget—it was simply world class!” —Sverker Magnusson, Arvika News
Alessandro Deljavan has won top prizes in competitions including Concours musical de France (1st Prize, Paris, 1996), Hummel Competition (2nd Prize, Bratislava, 2005), Gina Bachauer Young Artist Competition (5th Prize, 2005), Cliburn Competition (John Giordano Discretionary Award, 2009), Isangyun Competition (2nd Prize, Tongyeong, South Korea, 2010), and Cliburn Competition (Raymond E. Buck Discretionary Award, 2013).
Alessandro has performed with orchestras such as the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra (St. Petersburg, Russia), the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra (Fort Worth, Texas, USA), the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi (Milan, Italy), Orchestra Sinfonica Leopolis (Atri, Italy), Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento (tour in Italy & Slovakia), Israel Camerata Orchestra (Tel Aviv, Israel), Wu Han Philharmonic Orchestra (Wu Han, China), and the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra (Vilnius, Lithuania), the Filarmonica de Stat Sibiu (Sibiu, Romania), among others.
He has appeared at festivals such as the Festival International Piano Classique de Biarritz (Biarritz, France), Festival Chopin à Paris (Paris, France), Piano Intime Series (Montpellier, France), Glafsfjordens musikfestival (Arvika, Sweden), Bologna Festival (Bologna, Italy), Il Festival Piano Master (Gravedona, Italy), Orta Festival (Lago d’Orta, Italy), Gradus International Piano Festival (Aarhus, Denmark), Franz Liszt Festival (Albano Laziale, Italy), Festival Città di Morbegno (Morbegno, Italy), Festival Internazionale di Lapedona (Lapedona, Italy), Autunno Musicale (Como, Italy), the Bogotà International Piano Festival (Bogotà, Colombia) and Tippet Rise (Montana, USA).
His chamber music partners have included the Takács Quartet, the Sine Nomine Quartet and the Brentano Quartet, Alissa Margulis (violin), and Alexander Buzlov (cello). He has toured extensively with the violinist Daniela Cammarano with whom he has recorded several albums for the Aevea, Brilliant Classics and Onclassical labels. Extending his chamber music into the formation of a trio, Alessandro has begun a collaboration with the cellist Amedeo Cicchese who along with Daniela Cammarano form Trio Laetitia with a debut recording on the Artalinna label.
Alessandro has appeared in films such as ‘Franz Liszt: The Pilgrimage Years’ (RAI – Italian TV), ‘Virtuosity’ (Cliburn / PBS), and numerous live broadcasts on European radio. The live webcasts from the Cliburn competitions (2009 & 2013) were seen by over a million viewers in 155 countries.
In 2021 Alessandro inaugurated his own imprint, the AERAS Music Group, for which he has released the Bach Goldberg Variations, and an album of works by Liszt.
Alessandro Deljavan has a discography of over 70 albums with the Stradivarius, Brilliant Classics, Onclassical, Aevea, Naxos, Tactus and Piano Classics labels. A new release coming in 2024 marks his debut recording on period keyboard in an album of J.S. Bach and J.C. Bach. He performs on a forte piano from 1770 with Federico Bracalente playing Violincello Piccolo in the three Gamba Sonatas of J.S. Bach and a solo keyboard sonata of J.C. Bach. The album is being released on Evil Penguin Classics, also a new label for Deljavan.
On Youtube, his recording of the complete Chopin Waltzes has received more than 1,300,000 streams to date.
Alessandro Deljavan graduated from the Conservatorio Statale di Musica Giuseppe Verdi (Milano, 2003) and the Istituto Gaetano Braga (Teramo, 2006). From 2005 – 2013 he was among the select young artists attending the International Piano Academy at Lake Como, Italy under the tutelage of the Academy’s artistic director, William Grant Naboré. In addition, he has taken part in courses at the Mozarteum Salzburg, the Festival dell Nazioni at Città di Castello and the Ottorino Respighi Foundation on St. George Island, Venice, Italy.
His teachers include Valentina Chiola, Piotr Lachert, Ricardo Risaliti, Enrico Belli, Eugenio Bagnoli, Lazar Berman, William Grant Naboré, Dimitri Bashkirov, Laurent Boullet, Fou Ts’ong, Dominique Merlet, John Perry, Menahem Pressler, Claude Frank, Richard Goode, and Andreas Staier.
He is currently Artistic Director of the Opera Master school in Villamagna founded in 2021 and Professor of Piano at the U. Giordano Conservatory of Music, Rodi Garganico, Italy. Alessandro Deljavan joins the faculty at the International Piano Academy at Lake Como giving a master class in May of 2024.
It can't be easy to have been a son of the great Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach was undoubtedly very strict, and if you'd have any composition ambitions, you would have to find a way to step out of the shadow of your father. Luckily, his sons had everything going for them considering their music. Whereas the traditional Baroque music of their father slowly went out of fashion, most of Bach's sons managed to follow the new trends of the early Classicism. In other words: relatively simple, melodic music which is not too heavy on the listener, yet still very passionate.
Carl Philipp Emanuel, Bach's fifth son, became the most outstanding among his siblings. Like each of Bach's sons, he received a solid education from his father, en Carl Philipp developed into a remarkably talented keyboardist. Moreover, he became a prolific composer and of all Bach's sons, he was able to came closest to the quality of his father's work, albeit in a completely different style.