Michael Finnissy: Pno Works [CD] (ONLINE ORDER ONLY)

Michael Finnissy: Pno Works [CD] (ONLINE ORDER ONLY)

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Metier presents a landmark 4-disc box set from pianist Ian Pace in commanding performances of music by composer Michael Finnissy (b. 1946). Finnissy is widely regarded as one of Britain's most important living composers. Pace, one of the leading interpreters of Finnissy's work, presents an album focused around Finnissy's epic cycle for piano, the Verdi Transcriptions, alongside the second complete recording (after the composer's own) of the iconic English Country-Tunes, and works inspired by music of the late-18th and 19th. The result is a broad view of Finnish's extensive output of piano music in relation to romantic aesthetics. The album is released in anticipation of the Metier label's upcoming celebrations of Michael Finnissy's 80th birthday in 2026. Finnissy's four-book cycle of Verdi Transcriptions re-imagines Verdi's operas through a modern lens. As Finnissy states in his liner notes, "Transcribing sound into a written form (notation) involves making significant choices. The choices can colour the ongoing exploration of that sound as 'composition'." The result of those choices is a monumental, late-Romantic epic. Finnissy's English Country-Tunes has long been considered one of his signature and most technically demanding cycles. There is a similar line of composition through transcription as the Verdi Transcriptions, only in these works, the source material is English folk music. Written in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee, the work work can also be seen as a commentary on the spirit of British patriotism at the time. Ian Pace's readings reflect decades of study: he first performed English Country-Tunes in the 1990s and has played Finnissy's complete piano oeuvre in cycles (1996 and 2016). The set includes extensive liner notes by both Pace and Finnissy, offering rare insight into the compositional ideas and performance choices behind these demanding works. In Pace's recording of Michael Finnissy's other epic piano cycle, The History of Photography in Sound (MSV 77501), BBC Music raved, "Pace's intimate acquaintance with the totality of History is apparent in his commanding performance... this is a magnificent achievement for both composer and performer," and Gramophone hailed Pace ass "Finnissy's David Bailey, each note shaded to perfection, structures translucently and sharply lit, defining sonic images of our time."

Tracklist:

  1. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 1~I. Aria: 'Sciagurata! a questo lido ricercai l'amante infido!', Oberto (Act 2)
  2. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 1~II. Trio: 'Bella speranza in vero', Un giorno di regno (Act 1)
  3. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 1~III. Chorus: 'Il maledetto non ha fratelli', Nabucco (Part 2)
  4. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 1~IV. Chorus: 'Fra tante sciagure ... ', I Lombardi (Act 3)
  5. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 1~V. Septet with Chorus: 'Vedi come il buon vegliardo ... ', Ernani (Part 1)
  6. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 1~VI. Choral Barcarolle: 'Tace il vento, è queta l'onda', I Due Foscari (Act 3)
  7. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 1~VII. Aria: 'So che per via di triboli', Giovanna d'Arco (Act 1)
  8. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 1~VIII. Duet: 'Il pianto ... l'angoscia ... di lean mi priva', Alzira (Act 2)
  9. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 1~IX. Aria: 'Mentre gonfiarsi l'Anima', Attila (Act 1)
  10. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 2~X. Duetto: 'Vanitosi! Che abietti e dormenti', Attila (Prologo)
  11. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 2~XI. Coro: 'Patria oppressa! Il dolce nome ... ', Macbeth (Act 4, 1847 version)
  12. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 2~XII. Duetto: 'Qual mare, qual terra .... ', I masnadieri (Parte Terza)
  13. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 2~XIII. Récit et Duo: 'Non, ce bruit, ce n'est rien ... ', Jérusalem (Act 1)
  14. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 2~XIV. Romanza: 'Non so le tetre immagini', Il Corsaro (Act 1)
  15. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 2~XV. Inno di Vittoria: 'Dall'Alpi a Caridi echeggi vittoria!', La Battaglia di Legnano (Ac
  16. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 2~XVI. Scena e Quartetto: 'Rea fucina d'empie frodi ... ', Luisa Miller (Act 2)
  17. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 2~XVII. Duetto: 'Opposto é il calle che in avvenire', Stiffelio (Act 3)
  18. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 2~XVIII. Scena e Coro: 'Vendetta del pazzo! Contr'esso un rancore', Rigoletto (Act 1)
  19. Five Yvaroperas~Yvaropera 1
  20. Five Yvaroperas~Yvaropera 2
  21. Five Yvaroperas~Yvaropera 3
  22. Five Yvaroperas~Yvaropera 4
  23. Five Yvaroperas~Yvaropera 5
  24. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 3~XIX. Canzone: 'La donna è mobile', Rigoletto (Act 3)
  25. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 3~XX. Duo: 'Vivra! Contende il giubilo', Il trovatore (Act 4, scene 1)
  26. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 3~XXI. Duetto: 'E nulla, sai?', La traviata (Act 3)
  27. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 3~XXII. Bolero: 'Merci, jeunes amies, d'un souvenir si doux!', Les vêpres siciliennes (Act
  28. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 3~XXIII. Scena: 'Tradimento!', Simon Boccanegra (Finale dell'Atto Primo, 1857 version)
  29. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 3~XXIV. Coro, Burrasca e Finale: 'Allora che gl'anni', Aroldo (Act 4)
  30. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 3~XXV. Stretta: 'Ogni cura si doni al diletto', Un ballo di maschera (Act 1)
  31. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 3~XXVI. Romanza: 'Me pellegrina ed orfano', La forza del destino (Act 1)
  32. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 3~XXVII. Aria: (a) 'Trionfai! Securi alfino' (1847), (b) 'La luce langue' (1864-5), Macbeth
  33. English Country-Tunes~Green Meadows
  34. English Country-Tunes~Midsummer Morn
  35. English Country-Tunes~I'Il give my love a garland
  36. English Country-Tunes~May and December
  37. English Country-Tunes~Lies and Marvels
  38. English Country-Tunes~The seeds of love
  39. English Country-Tunes~My bonny boy
  40. English Country-Tunes~Come beat the drums and sound the fifes
  41. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 4~XXVIII. Chorus: 'S'allontanarono! N'accozzeremo', Macbeth (Act 1)
  42. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 4~XXIX. (a) Duo: 'Restez! Auprès de ma personne' (Acte II, Tableau II); (b) Duo: 'J'ai tou
  43. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 4~XXX. Romanza: 'O cieli azzuri ... ', Aida (Act 3)
  44. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 4~XXXI. String Quartet: (a) III. Prestissimo, (b) IV. Scherzo fuga
  45. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 4~XXXII. Aria: 'Cielo, pietoso, rendila', Simon Boccanegra (Act 2)
  46. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 4~XXXIII. Aria: 'Tu che la vanità conoscesti', Don Carlo (Act 5)
  47. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 4~XXXIV. (a) Ballet No. 3: 'Chanson Grecque' (Cancone Greca); (b) Scena: 'Una gran nube tur
  48. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 4~XXXV. 'Brava! Quelle corna saranno la mio gioia!', Falstaff (Act 3, Part 1)
  49. Verdi Transcriptions for piano, Book 4~XXXVI. I. 'Requiem Aeternam', Messa da Requiem
  50. Romeo and Juliet are Drowning
  51. William Billings
  52. Beethoven's Robin Adair~Beethoven's Robin Adair 1
  53. Beethoven's Robin Adair~Beethoven's Robin Adair 2
  54. Beethoven's Robin Adair~Beethoven's Robin Adair 3
  55. Beethoven's Robin Adair~Beethoven's Robin Adair 4
  56. Beethoven's Robin Adair~Beethoven's Robin Adair 5
  57. Beethoven's Robin Adair~Beethoven's Robin Adair 6
  58. Beethoven's Robin Adair~Beethoven's Robin Adair 7
  59. Rossini
  60. Preambule zu "Carnaval", gefolgt von der ersten und zweiten symphonischen Etüde nach Schumann~Preambule zu Carnaval
  61. Preambule zu "Carnaval", gefolgt von der ersten und zweiten symphonischen Etüde nach Schumann~Symphonische Etude 1
  62. Preambule zu "Carnaval", gefolgt von der ersten und zweiten symphonischen Etüde nach Schumann~Symphonische Etude 2
  63. What the meadow-flowers tell me
  64. Brahms-Lieder~1
  65. Brahms-Lieder~2
  66. Brahms-Lieder~3
  67. Brahms-Lieder~4
  68. Strauss-Walzer~Wo die Zitronen blühn
  69. Strauss-Walzer~O, schöner Mai
  70. Strauss-Walzer~Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald

UPC: 809730740220
Label: Metier
Release Date: 10.3.25
Format: CD

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