Credits:

Andreev, Igor

Description:

Anniversary album of Joachim Raff and Paul Huong! World premiere recordings of Joachim Ruff on the 200th anniversary of his birth and Paul Juon on the 150th anniversary of his birth! This album celebrates the anniversaries of two Swiss composers, Joachim Raff, who will celebrate his 200th birthday in 2022, and Paul Juon, who will celebrate his 150th birthday in 2022, with world premiere recordings of their works! Raff was one of the most influential composers of the late 19th century and one of the most frequently performed composers in the German-speaking world. (For example, his Symphony No. 3 "In the Woods" was performed more than 100 times in the two music magazines of the time alone.) Located toward the end of his creative career, "Fantasy for Two Pianos" (1877) is a 20-minute work with a symphonic structure. Like Raff, Paul Juon, who left numerous works in a variety of genres, created his own musical language between the idioms of Russian music, Impressionism, and Modernism. His "Sound Poem for Two Pianos" (1924), subtitled "Jotunheimen Jotunheimen," derived from Norse mythology, evokes the mysterious mountainous regions of Northern Europe. The album concludes with "Suite No. 1" (1888), a masterpiece for two pianos by Arensky, Juon's teacher. Tokyo M-Plus