Composer: Georges Bizet

  • Liszt to Milhaud – A Journey with Piano Four Hands

    Liszt to Milhaud – A Journey with Piano Four Hands

    The Divine Art label has long been associated with music for piano duo – whether at two pianos or one – through the sterling and brilliant work of Goldstone and Clemmow and more recently Piano-à-Deux. The label is delighted to welcome a new duo with this program which contains several very popular and well-loved miniatures and transcriptions, bookended by major works from Liszt and Milhaud. They need no introduction save to say that from the dances, to the jazz-inflected pieces, each work is a joy to hear.

    These are sparkling performances of well known pieces and form a light counterpoint to the artists’ new 3-piano album of contemporary works. The pianists met when both students at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. Zeynep Ucbarasan is from Turkey but moved to the USA for her postgraduate studies and now lives in California. Her previous recordings and concert appearances have drawn unalloyed praise. Sergio Gallo is a Steinway artist who specialises in music of the Romantic period. He has made several acclaimed recordings for Eroica and is currently recording for Naxos and Quartz. He has won many awards and currently is professor of Piano Performance at the Georgia State University in Atlanta.

  • Bizet: Carmen

    Bizet: Carmen

    Raymonde Visconti, Georges Thill, Louis Guénot, Andreé Vavon, Andreé Bernadet, Choeur et Orchestre Symphonique de Paris, conducted by Elie Cohen*

    This classic recording of the world’s most popular opera, made in and around 1928, has previously only had very limited exposure on LP or CD. While advertised and labelled as being by the Paris Symphony, the forces are actually those of the Opéra-Comique. In Georges Thill, playing Don José, we have the greatest French tenor of the century, and overall this is a memorable performance, as ever restored with great skill by Pristine Audio.

    DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

    Carmen: Raymonde Visconti (mezzo-soprano)
    Don José: Georges Thill (tenor)
    Micaëla: Marthe Nespoulpous (soprano)
    Escamillo: Louis Guénot (baritone)
    Frasquita: Andreé Vavon (soprano)
    Mercédès: Andreé Bernadet (soprano)
    Dancaïro: Robert Roussel (tenor)
    Remendado: Téo Mathyl (tenor)

    * The Flower Song (CD1, track 13) recorded in 1927 and conducted by Philippe Gaubert.