Alexandre Tharaud (piano)

Bach, J S: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C Major, BWV 846: I. Prelude
Rameau: Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin, Suite en sol: XIV. Les Sauvages
Chopin: Mazurka No. 41 in C sharp minor, Op. 63 No. 3
Rachmaninov: Prelude Op. 3 No. 2 in C sharp minor
Rachmaninov: Morceaux de fantaisie, Op. 3: No. 1, Élégie
Chabrier: 10 Pièces pittoresques: No. 6, Idylle
Gluck: Gluck / Arr Siloti: Orphée et Eurydice, Wq. 41, Act I: Dance of the Blessed Spirits
Mahler: Mahler / Transcr. Tharaud: Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor, Pt. 3: IV. Adagietto
Scarlatti, D: Keyboard Sonata in A Major, Kk. 208
Scarlatti, D:Keyboard Sonata in D Major, Kk. 29
Sibelius: Valse Triste, Op. 44 No. 1
Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit, M. 55: III. Scarbo
Chopin: Ballade No. 2 in F major, Op. 38
Satie: Gymnopédie No. 1
Bach, J S: Clavier-Büchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann Bach: No. 18, Prelude in E Minor, BWV 855a (Arr. Siloti, Performed in B Minor)
Rameau: Second livre de pièces de clavecin, Suite en mi, V. Le Rappel des oiseaux & VIII. Tambourin
Bach, J S: Goldberg Variations, BWV988: Aria
Fauré: 3 Songs Without Words, Op. 17: No. 3, Andante moderato
Gershwin: George Gershwin's Songbook: VIII. The Man I Love
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18: I. Moderato
Haydn: Keyboard Concerto No. 11 in D major, HobXVIII:11, 11: II. Un poco adagio (Cadenza by Tharaud) & 11: III. Rondo all'Ungarese (Cadenza by Tharaud)
Bach, J S: Bach, JS / Arr. Tharaud & Labadie: Keyboard Concerto in D Minor, BWV 974: II. Adagio (After Marcello's Oboe Concerto)
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Major, M. 83: III. Presto (Live)
Poulenc: Piano Concerto in C-Sharp Minor, FP 146: I. Allegretto (Live)
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488: I. Allegro (Live)
Mozart: Rondo in A Major, K. 386 (Cadenza by Tharaud)
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-Flat Major, K. 271 "Jeunehomme": III. Rondeau. Presto
Bach, J S: Concerto for Four Keyboards in A minor (after Vivaldi), BWV1065, II. Largo & III. Allegro
Hans Abrahmansen: Abrahamsen: Left, Alone for Piano Left Hand and Orchestra: I. Very Fast (Live)
Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major, Op. 6 No. 2, K. 331 "Alla Turca": III. Allegretto. Turkish March
Debussy: Debussy / Transcr. Tharaud: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, CD 87, L. 86
Khachaturian: Children's Album, Book I, Op. 62: No. 1, Andantino
Grieg: Lyric Pieces, Book II, Op. 38: No. 7, Waltz
Grieg: Lyric Pieces, Book III, Op. 43: No. 1, Butterfly
Grieg: Lyric Pieces, Book. V, Op. 54: No. 6, Bell Ringing
Wiener: Histoires sans paroles, No. 9, Bucolique & No. 11, Blues
Morricone, E: Cinema Paradiso
Poulenc: Musiques de soie: Valse
Le Flem: Le Chant des genets
Ladmirault: Valse triste for 2 Pianos
Wiener: 2 Chansons de Charles Trenet: No. 1, Mes jeunes années
Carlos d'Alessio: India Song Improvisation
Fred Fassert: Fassert / Transcr. Tharaud: Around the Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann"
Brian Wilson, Michael Love: Wilson, Love / Transcr. Tharaud: Around the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" for Three Pianos
Mompou: Charmes: II. Pour pénétrer les âmes
Ravel: Prelude in A Minor, M. 65
Ravel: Miroirs, M. 43: I. Noctuelles

Thirty years of recording. A discography built from stones of many different, and sometimes clashing, colours, but a discography with a broad and solid structure, a kind of self-portrait. If a good half of this set is taken from Alexandre Tharaud’s published discography, the rest is made up by hitherto unreleased music. Some did not make it on to the album they were originally intended for, while others were recorded for fun at studio sessions over the years. “When you’re recording,” the pianist explains, “you’re always looking for the perfect take, where everything flows perfectly. But the pressure of the microphone doesn’t help... So sometimes, recording a piece unplanned allows you to rediscover that spontaneity”.

“Recording is as necessary to me as the air I breathe. One withdraws from the world for a brief while – an eternity –, examines a piece of music and is cross-examined by it in turn, then gives evidence before the microphones. It’s as if I’ve played out my life through my recordings, each one representing a significant, if not seminal, stage in my development as an artist.”