Claves Record

Joseph Moog: Metamorphoses

Our first encounter with the young German pianist took place three years ago, during the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad. Winner of the "Marguerite Dütschler Prize", he subsequently recorded two magnificent Liszt concerts with the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz and Ari Rasilainen (Claves CD 50-2707). Today he is back with a recital programme centered around the art of transcription – very much in fashion during the 19th and early 20th century. "Metamorphoses" (as it is called) includes pages from Liszt, Friedman, Moszkowski as well as the famous Leopold Godowsky, master of the art. Pages in which virtuosity rivals with delicate sounds and colours, and in which we alternately meet Bellini's Norma, Saint-Saëns' Cygne, Bizet's Carmen or even Wagner's Tannhäuser. A joint production with the Südwestrundfunk Ludwigshafen studio and a presentation text by Etienne Barillier, in which the writer questions the very essence of these pages – "transcription or ré-création?"