Paul Juon: Piano Music, Volume One
The Russian-born German-Swiss composer Paul Juon (1872–1940) produced a generous amount of piano music – 35 opus numbers – which has yet to be explored in any detail in recordings. This first instalment of the first-ever survey of his piano music reveals a composer close to his Russian roots but also alive to the music of his own time, in a kind of sophisticated blend of Medtner and Debussy, with folk influences from far further afield.
Rodolfo Ritter, piano
Listen To This Recording:
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Vier Klavierstücke, Op. 65 (1915)
- No. 1 Heitere Weise
- No. 2 Schlummerlied
- No. 3 Exotisches Intermezzo
- No. 4 Tanz
- No. 1 Wogen
- No. 2 Episode
- No. 3 Elfchen
- No. 4 Romantisches Wiegenlied
- No. 5 Sonderbare Humoreske
- No. 6 Intermezzo
- No. 7 Es geht die Sage
- No. 8 Kleine Tarantelle
- No. 9 Sphinx
- No. 10 Narretei
- No. 11 Ruhige Liebe
- No. 12 Zu Grabe tragen
- No. 1 Menuet
- No. 2 Élégie
- No. 3 Intermezzo
- No. 4 Intimité
- No. 5 Bagatelle
- No. 6 Nostalgie (Valse lente)
- No. 7 Étude
- No. 8 Berceuse
- No. 9 Cortège
Intime Harmonieen: 12 Impromptus, Op. 30 (1905)
Moments Lyriques, Op. 56 (1913)
Alexandre G :
Extraordinaire et tres interesant musique! Merci beaucoup!
MusicWeb International :
‘It is clear by now that Juon’s piano music, compressed and organised as it is into small-sized sets, enjoys an easy lyricism and some stylistic variety. It reserves brief moments of portentous depth but in the main is approachable, even airy and beautifully laid out – or at least sounds so in these splendid performances by Rodolfo Ritter even if there is no other performance against which to measure him. […]
Ritter has written his own articulate and insightful booklet notes and practises what he preaches in highly persuasive performances recorded well. An auspicious start to the series.’
—Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International
Soren Legman :
Beautiful disc! Meaningful music from an unknown master composer played with a combination of mastery and poetic display of subtleties … Superb pianist. Highly recommended!!