John
Robilette
LIVE
AT WIGMORE HALL
IN LONDON
Bach-Kempff ~ Beethoven Severac
~ Chopin ~
Weber
MS1043
~ $12.95
John
Robilette's piano interpretations are distinctive, bold, and imaginative
with beautiful tone throughout. The Washington Post summed up his
art by writing that "Robilette is a first-class artist who seems able to
intuit effortlessly the composers intent." LIVE is Mr. Robilette's fourth commercial CD recording.The other three
(piano concerti with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Russian State
Symphony, and the New Philharmonic of Sophia, as well as solo
works) have been acclaimed in newspapers and major record review periodicals
through out the country.
From International Piano Quarterly
(A. T. Albeson):
"John Robilette begins his unusual, somewhat old-fashioned programme with two Bach transcriptions by Kempff
(with a reminder in his informative booklet notes that Bach transcribed his and other composers' music long before 'transcriptions' became a dirty
word). Instantly noticeable from Robilette's playing of Kempff's transcription of Bach's
Siciliano is the sheer beauty and quality of tone he produces from his instrument.
Throught his one hour long programme there isn't a hard or ugly sound and in the busy right hand of Kempff's arrangement of the Chorale Prelude, 'It is surely the time', Robilette's finger-work never
degenerates into the 'typewriter' or 'rapid machine-gun fire' style of playing we often hear in Bach's rapid semiquaver passages; rather he uses a more mellow 'footsteps sinking into the snow' technique.
In Beethoven's Sonata Op.109, Robilette's
cantabile and pianissimo playing is especially notable in the sublime melody that opens the final movement.
It is hard to imagine de Severac as a contemporary of Debussy and Ravel with his light-weight
Pipperment-Get Valse, but Robilette dispatches it with charm and elegance as he also does Weber’s more virtuosic
Invitation to the dance – the audience bursting into enthusiastic applause before the surprise quiet ending.
Robilette’s way with Chopin reflects an earlier age too. He captures the grandeur of Chopin’s not-so-often played Polonaise in C minor, with some interseting voicings in the reflective middle section.
In the Valse de l’A’dieu, Op.69 No.1, the Trois Nouvelles Etudes, and the middle section of the
Fantasie-Impromptu, he highlights hidden themes within left hand harmonies, while in the Etude, Op.10, No.9 he uses
imaginative rubato to convey the mood of restless agitation… This is a very enjoyable disc; audience applause is kept to a minimum and there is a natural concert-hall perspective to the sound."
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Bach-Kempff
Siciliano from the Flute Sonata No. 2;
Chorale Prelude: It is Surely the Time
Severac
Pippermint-Get Valse
Weber
Invitation to the Dance
Beethoven
Sonata Op. 109 in E Major
Chopin
Polonaise in C minor, Op. 40, No.2
Waltz in Aflat Major, Op. 69, No.1
Les Trois Nouvelles Etudes, Op. Post.
Etude in F minor, Op. 10, No.9
Etude in C minor, Op. 10, No.12 (Revolutionary)
Impromptu in C sharp minor, Op. 66
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