Credits:

Beethoven (1770-1827)

Description:

The superb technique is completely different from Liszt's, and the singing is in French. Etsuko Hirose takes on the challenge of the fantastic "9th" arranged by Kalkbrenner! Here comes the fantastic "9th" which was supposed to be performed at La Folle Journée Music Festival in May this year and was supposed to attract much attention. In the Beethoven year of 2020, many pianists have taken up Liszt's arrangement of Symphony No. 9 "Chorus," but this is the world premiere recording of Kalkbrenner's arrangement from the early 19th century. King International provided the score, and Etsuko Hirose, who lives in Paris and is a well-known performer at the Forgeurne Music Festival, gave a magnificent performance. Friedrich (Frederick) Kalkbrenner (1785-1849) was a German but very successful pianist and composer who lived in Paris. He is known above all as the young Chopin's ardent admirer and pupil. In 1837, he arranged all nine of Beethoven's symphonies for solo piano and presented them to the Beethoven-loving King Louis-Philippe of France. Liszt also tried to arrange Beethoven's symphonies a little later, but gave up on the Ninth, which he finally did 26 years later in 1864. Kalkbrenner's arrangement is only the second arrangement in history, after the version made by Wagner as a boy in 1830, and the first by a major figure in the piano world.It is said that Kalkbrenner played in front of Beethoven at the age of 10 and that he predicted a brilliant future for him. Since he learned to play the piano during the Classical period, he does not use a rational technique like Liszt, but rather an orthodox method of writing. The difficulty of the piece is tremendous, and although it is not a simple task, Etsuko Hirose overcame it with her own superb technique, and surprisingly, the recording was made during the La Folle Journée Festival in Nantes. Hirose's playing is precise and unambiguous, from the roaring forte to the fashionable singing. It is also intriguing that Kalkbrenner, who knew the expressiveness and timbre of the piano, derives a sound world from the "9th" that resembles the piano sonatas of Beethoven's later period. Like Wagner, Kalkbrenner left the vocal part in the last movement, but to his surprise, he used Charlemagne's French translation of Schiller's "Ode to Joy" instead of the German. This recording also uses French singers to emphasize nuance. The chorus is the Russian Yekaterinburg Philharmonic Chorus, and the sound pressure of their voices is very powerful and moving. Andrei Petrenko, the chorus director of the Mariinsky Theatre, is also a great leader of the chorus. If you like the "Ninth," this is a series of eye-openers and a joint appeal to Japan, France, Germany, and Russia in these difficult times. King International

Tracklisting:

1.Symphonie no. 9 en re Mineur Opus 125~Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso
2.Symphonie no. 9 en re Mineur Opus 125~Molto vivace
3.Symphonie no. 9 en re Mineur Opus 125~Adagio molto e cantabile
4.Symphonie no. 9 en re Mineur Opus 125~Finale: Presto