French Piano Rarities - (BOULEZ, P. / DEBUSSY, C. / MESSIAEN, O. / RAVEL, M.) - Ralph van Raat

This album of French piano rarities features seldom-heard and recently discovered works by composers who had an influence on Pierre Boulez, as well as the premiere recording of Boulez’s Prélude, Toccata et Scherzo. This large-scale early work looks back on virtuosic Romantic music, while at the same time exploring the new compositional styles that Boulez would subsequently embrace. Among the rarities is a posthumously discovered piano study by Debussy, a reconstructed birdsong work by Messiaen, and a tiny masterpiece by Ravel found in a notebook.

Debussy, Claude

 Étude retrouvée

 Les soirs illuminés par l'ardeur du charbon (Evenings Lit by the Burning Coals)

Messiaen, Olivier

 Morceau de lecture à vue

 Des canyons aux étoiles … (excerpts)

 La Fauvette Passerinette (The Subalpine Warbler)

Boulez, Pierre

 Prelude, Toccata et Scherzo

 12 Notations