Pavel Kolesnikov was born into a Siberian family of scientists and studied both the piano and violin for ten years, before concentrating solely on the piano. Kolesnikov has studied at the Moscow State Conservatory with Sergey Dorensky, London’s Royal College of Music with Norma Fisher, and at Brussels’ Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel with Maria João Pires thanks to generous support from Mr. Christopher D Budden, the RCM Scholarship Foundation and the Hattori Foundation. Since becoming Prize Laureate of the Honens Prize for Piano in 2012, Pavel has performed extensively across the globe including at such venues as Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, Berlin’s Konzerthaus, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Melbourne Recital Centre, Saitama Theatre in Tokyo, and the Louvre Auditorium in Paris. With his third release, Kolesnikov is bringing to life the music of composer Louis Couperin, titled, Couperin: Dances from the Bauyn Manuscript. Couperin was one of the greatest composers of keyboard music since the seventeenth century. However, he has been overshadowed by his famous nephew François since the seventeenth century, but over the last decade Louis Couperin’s reputation has increased. Kolesnikov’s addition to this cannon will certainly help in bringing awareness of the composer. Kolesnikov’s playing brings out the unencumbered creativity and astonishing harmonic tension and release that makes Couperin’s piano music so vivacious. That’s the short of it!
Couperin: Dances from the Bauyn Manuscript
SUITE IN D MINOR
Prelude in D minor[8'35]
Allemande in D minor[2'11]
Courante in D minor[2'15]
Sarabande in D minor[2'59]
Gavotte in D minor[1'03]
Canaries in D minor[1'07]
Chaconne in D minor[3'40]
Allemande Grave in F major[3'12]
Chaconne in F major[3'34]
Chaconne ou Passacaille in G minor[4'49]
SUITE IN G MINOR
Allemande in G minor[3'50]
Courante in G minor[2'25]
Sarabande in G minor[2'06]
Gigue in C minor[2'16]
Passacaille in G minor[5'53]
Tombeau de Mr de Blancrocher[8'48]
SUITE IN A MAJOR
Prelude in A major[3'13]
Courante in A major[1'45]
Sarabande in A major[2'33]
Sarabande in A minor[3'09]
Gigue in A major[1'41]
Pavanne in F sharp minor[7'56]
Release Date: March 30, 2018
HYPERION
79 minutes
Kolesnikov’s playing is stylish, energetic and brings the technique of the piano and harpsichord, for which the music was originally composed into a focus. Kolesnikov’s Yamaha piano features two contrasting actions, one of which conveys the bristling yet muted immediacy of a harpsichord lute stop and the eloquence of the piano.
Bryce Dessner, Solos Review
Gwyneth Wentink, Canto Ostinato Review
