Review of Alexandre Tharaud – Ravel: Piano Concerto

Just over twenty years ago, Alexandre Tharaud recorded all of Maurice Ravel’s piano works. He has now recorded the G Major Concerto, the Left Hand Concerto and Manuel de Falla’s Nights in Spanish Gardens with the Orchestra National de France and Louis Langre. The pianist’s familiarity with Ravel’s music is beyond doubt; Tharoud sees it as a visionary sonic language, which he simultaneously approaches through his own system. A certain rigor is often his principle and he avoids exaggeration. However, this approach goes hand in hand with a high level of transparency. You’ll never catch a Tharaud using the pedal to mask sounds in an impressionistic way. He rarely dares to go to dynamic extremes, but moves between them with a large number of modifications. The Orchester National de France pads, darns, and comments in many voices and carefully.

Ravel: Piano Concertos in G major and for the left hand alone in D major, Falla: Nights in Spanish Gardens

Alexandre Tharaud (piano), National Orchestra of France, Louis Langre (conductor)
Erato

Alexander Tharoud

The fact that you as a pianist would not want to have a piano in your home is probably inconceivable to most keyboard musicians. As for the French pianist Alexandre Tharaud, he needs distance from his instrument in order to be able to focus on each one…more