Cecchin, Mauro
Robert Casadesus: Les Partitions Oubliees Piano Music
Robert Casadesus was one of the greatest French pianists of the twentieth century; he came from, and also continued, a family of musicians; his wife Gaby and his son Jean are among its notable members. A friend of Maurice Ravel, whose complete piano works he mastered, Robert Casadesus had an international career leading him to play in the most important venues and with the greatest conductors and chamber music partners of his era (including Toscanini, Walter, Francescatti etc.). Besides, he was also a composer of genius, who authored 69 opus numbers which include large-scale works such as symphonies, concertos, and a large output of piano works. Among these, his 24 Prludes are a set reminiscent of other similar sets written by Chopin, Debussy etc., on the model of Bachs Well-Tempered Clavier. Casadesus Prludes are short pieces, well-characterized in spite of their brevity, and allowing pianists to display the full palette of their technical and expressive resources. His Toccata, in turn, follows in the footsteps of other works by the same name: it shares with Schumanns and Prokofevs masterpieces the thrilling and exciting whirlwind of a perpetuum mobile style, where technique is an instrument to musical ends.