Reflets

Albumbeschreibung

The title of this recording by violinist Fedor Rudin (grandson of Edison Denisov) and pianist Florian Noack, REFLETS, was chosen for two reasons, according to the two soloists: firstly, because all works of art are connected in one way or another, because they make reference to each other in various ways or because they share a common tradition. Ravel, for example, was Fauré’s composition pupil, who in turn was Lili Boulanger’s piano teacher; sure, Catoire was influenced by Wagner, but when listening to his violin sonata, the first thought that comes to mind is: “This is the Sonata that Rachmaninoff should have written!”, even though Rachmaninoff lived after Catoire. In that sense, art is a reflection of our past while pointing towards the future; the interpreter turns into the composer’s reflection during the performance. The second meaning is related to our personal histories, to the so-called origin-based traditions and the reflections on culture that result from them, something Fedor Rudin is most familiar with as someone who was born in Russia and brought up in France. These reflections had a considerable influence on this selection of Russian and French works on this recording: one sonata – Catoire and Ravel – and two miniatures each, which belong together – Rachmaninov and Boulanger –, as well as two separate pieces, one from Russia and one from France – Fauré and Tchaikovsky. The programmatic reciprocation between the two countries mirrors Rudin’s own personal circumstances. Catoire was of French heritage and grew up in Russia... Within the programme there are similar parallels, for example with the two Romances, one Russian and the other French: two cultures that were closely intertwined and influenced each other before the Russian revolution. Franco-Russian violinist Fedor Rudin, a prizewinner of renowned international violin competitions including the Henri Marteau, Rodolfo Lipizer and the Aram Khachaturian competitions, is quickly establishing himself as one of the most exciting and gifted soloists of today. His recent concert engagements include solo debuts at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Philharmonie de Paris, Vienna’s Musikverein or the Tonhalle Zurich among others. The Belgian pianist Florian Noack was named “Emerging Artist of the Year” in 2015 by ECHO Klassik and awarded the International Classical Music Award (ICMA) 2017 for his recording of his own piano transcriptions and paraphrases of orchestral works by Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Rachmaninoff. © SM/Qobuz