The Proust Album

by Shani Diluka

Overview

The early 2020s have brought several deep dives into French music from the beginning of the 20th century and specifically into the world of Marcel Proust, partly due to the centenary of Proust's death in 2022. This one from pianist Shani Diluka focuses on music specifically mentioned and admired by Proust, much of it by composers with whom he had some personal connection. Primary among these is Reynaldo Hahn, represented by the elegant and rarely heard "Piano Concerto in E major" as well as some smaller works. There are also works by Fauré, Debussy, Franck, Massenet, the almost completely obscure "Elegie for piano, WWV 93," of Wagner, and the even rarer and only recently rediscovered Nocturno from the "Stimmungsbilder, Op. 9," of Richard Strauss. There are Hahn pieces with spoken texts and an imagined "Sonate de Vinteuil" for violin and piano, assembled from works by Hahn, Ysaÿe, and Cécile Chaminade. Despite the presence of the Hahn piano concerto, the mood has a salon-like intimacy, and Diluka catches the mood beautifully right from the beginning. Most of the pieces are moderate in tempo, making it a challenge to sustain interest, but her playing never becomes monotonous. Given that Gluck is represented in a transcription by Wilhelm Kempff, one wonders why Wagner or Strauss might not have been given the same treatment. However, this is a recording that will take anyone deeper into Proust's world.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/29/2021
Label:	Warner Classics
UPC:	0190296676253
catalogNumber:	667625
Rank:	34385

Tracks

1. Le rossignol éperdu, poems (53) for piano: Les Rêveries du Prince Églantine (contains a recit
2. L'isle joyeuse, for piano, L. 109 (106)
3. Le secret ("Je veux que le matin l'ignore le nom"), song for voice & piano in D flat major, Op. 23/3
4. Pièces de genre (10) for piano, Op. 10: 5. Élegie from Les Érinnyes
5. Les berceaux, song for voice & piano in B flat minor, Op. 23/1
6. Stimmungsbilder (Mood Pictures), pieces (5) for piano, Op. 9 (TrV 127): Nocturno
7. Elegy for piano in A flat major
8. Romances sans paroles (3) for piano, Op. 17: Romance No. 3 in A flat: Andante moderato
9. Sérénade espagnole, for piano, Op. 150
10. Mazurkas (2) de Salon, for violin & piano, Op.10: No. 1
11. Nocturne for violin & piano
12. Prélude, fugue, et variations, for organ in B minor, Op. 18, FWV 30: Prélude
13. Au bord de l'eau ("S'asseoir tous deux au bord du flot"), song for voice & piano, Op. 8/1
14. Orphée et Eurydice (French version), opera in 3 acts, Wq. 41: La Plainte d'Orphée
15. Premières valses, introduction & waltzes (10) for piano: No. 3 Ninette
16. Rêverie, for piano, L. 76 (68)
17. Piano Concerto in E major

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Shani Diluka   Primary Artist