Avec Esprit: Gouvy, Mélan-Guéroult, Saint-Saens, Ysaye – Tal & Groethuysen

The piano works with which the multi-award-winning duo Yaara Tal & Andreas Groethuysen once again underline their flair for rarities that are absolutely worth hearing come from the Francophone world of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For the program “Avec esprit” the duo has selected pieces mainly by unknown composers, which were written between 1874 and 1910, and thus show a wide range of French high and late romantic music.

These include, for example, a sonata by Louis Théodore Gouvy, the Variations on Lilli Bulléro, based on an Irish folk song probably written in the 17th century. So is a variation work by Théophile Ysaÿe, brother of legendary violinist and composer Eugène Ysaÿe. Of course, the classic of the duo repertoire, the Beethoven Variations by Camille Saint-Saëns cannot be missed. They are based on a theme from Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 31, No. 3.

This popular work is even followed by a world premiere recording! It is the lively character piece “Tourbillon” by pianist and composer Marguerite Mélan-Guéroult. The composer dedicated the onomatopoeic piece to her colleague Camille Saint-Saëns. Little is known about her, but this discovery certainly suggests that Marguerite Mélan-Guéroult had a firm place in Parisian musical life. A wonderful program à la française with a lot of esprit!