OLIVIER LATRY

Works by Liszt, Boëly, Schumann, Alkan, Brahms

Alexandre Pierre François Boëly:

1. Fantaisie et fugue en si bémol majeur opus 18/6 1856

2. Andante con moto en mi bémol majeur opus 18/1 1856

3. Andante con moto en sol mineur opus 43/7 c. 1843

4. Toccata en si mineur opus 43/13 1858

5. Allegro ma non troppo en fa mineur opus 18/7 1856

6. Franz Liszt: Évocation à la Chapelle Sixtine s.658 1862

Robert Schumann: Four Sketches opus 58

7. I. (Not fast, and very marked) in C major

8. II. (Not fast, and very marked) in C major

9. III. (Lively) in F minor

10. IV. (Cheerful) in D major

Johannes Brahms: Prélude et fugue en sol mineur Woo 10, 1857

11. I. Prélude

12. II. Fugue

13. Charles-Valentin Alkan: Prélude en si bémol mineur opus 66/10

14. Prélude en mi bémol majeur opus 66/5

15. Franz Liszt: Prélude et fugue sur B-A-C-H s.260i 1855

Olivier Latry (piano pedalier erard, Paris, 1853, Musee De La Musique collection)

Naïve’s prestigious ‘Cité de la Musique’ series presents a new recording of pieces originally written for - and here played on - a rarely performed instrument of the past, the pedal piano. This intriguing CD includes two monumental works by Franz Liszt, Evocation à la Chapelle Sixtine and the Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H, as well as music by Boëly, Schumann’s Four Sketches opus 58, two preludes by Alkan, and Brahms’ Prelude and Fugue in G minor Woo 10.

The Cité de la Musique in Paris is a major centre covering all musical genres and repertoires. Along with two concert halls, it includes a museum of early instruments. Naïve and the Cité de la Musique have launched a series in which great performers’ record on legendary instruments. This new volume is dedicated to an instrument scarcely played, the pedal piano, which belongs to a line of instruments which, like the organ, are equipped with a pedal keyboard. In the middle of the 19th century several major composers wrote pieces for pedal piano, including those featured on this CD.

Olivier Latry is regarded as one of the leading organists of his generation, both in France and on the international scene. After a period as organist of Meaux Cathedral from 1981 to 1985, he was only twenty-three when selected by competitive examination to become principal organist at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Naïve V5278