Clair-Obscur

The dreamer! This double of our being, this chiaroscuro of the thinking being" wrote Gaston Bachelard in 1961. "The old world is dying, the new one is slow to appear, and in this chiaroscuro monsters emerge," continued Antonio Gramsci. Sandrine Piau has chosen to use these two quotations as a preface to her new recording: "Those close to me know this obsession which never leaves me completely. The antagonism between light and darkness. The chiaroscuro, the in-between...".

This program, recorded with the Victor Hugo Orchestra conducted by Jean-François Verdier, conductor and super-soloist clarinetist of the Paris Opera, moves between the cold Rhine forest of Waldgespräch, a ballad by Zemlinsky composed in 1895 for soprano and small ensemble, the night of the first of Berg's Sieben frühe Lieder (1905-1908), the sun of Richard Strauss's Morgen, followed by the Four Last Songs, composed in 1948, of which the first two, Frühling (spring) and September (autumn), are also "the seasons of life", concludes Sandrine Piau.

1- Alexander von Zemlinsky Waldgespräch
2- Richard Strauss Morgen!
3- Richard Strauss Meinem Kinde
4-10 Alban Berg Sieben frühe lieder
11-14 Richard Strauss Vier letzte lieder
15- Richard Strauss Malven

Released on March 12, 2021 by Alpha Classics

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Sandrine Piau, soprano
Victor Hugo Orchestra
Jean-François Verdier, conductor

• Gramophone Editor's Choice
• The Choice of France Musique
• Musiq3's Choice
• Choc de Classica
• 5 Diapason
• The ResMusica Golden Key
• Absolute joker

Gramophone "Piau's voice is light and deftly controlled, and it's matched beautifully by dappled orchestral accompaniment from the Besançon-based Orchestre 'Victor Hugo' and conductor Jean-François Verdier - certainly more 'light' than 'dark'."

Leo « Dirigent und Orchester eine luftige Leichtigkeit, die aufhorchen lässt: So zart also kann diese Jenseitsromantik auch klingen! »

Classica " One is seduced by the perfect alchemy between Jean-François Verdier's supremely refined conducting and Sandrine Piau's singing ".

Diapason " The Victor Hugo Orchestra does not seek the luxuriance of the great Germanic formations. Everything is in the warm intimacy of an almost loving accompaniment where Mathilde Borsarello's solo violin shines: from this rare alchemy, one does not leave unscathed.

ResMusica ResMusica : At the head of the Victor Hugo Orchestra, Jean-François Verdier opts for a resolutely chamber music conception that accentuates the transparency of the writing of the pieces by Berg, Strauss and Zemlinsky. A big congratulations to the musicians for this disc which, for many, will be a balm for the soul.

Crescendo Magazine "The Victor Hugo Orchestra, with its warm and complicit accents so well balanced by Jean-François Verdier, is in complete harmony with the radiance of the singer. Ah, the admirable disc!

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