Chorus Vel Organa – Music from the lost Palace of Westminster – Choir Of Gonville & Caius College

   in Piano International (Jul, 2016)
Lucas Debargue is hardly the first pianist to achieve fame by not winning a piano competition, but he may well be among the most significant. His performances at the 2015 Tchaikovsky Competition, where he was awarded fourth prize, are currently still available for free at www.medici.tv. This live recording (but with recording dates spread over three days, so presumably patched) offers huge rewards. Debargue’s performances of Scarlatti are perfectly shaped, and delivered with tremendous affection. He uses the pedal liberally: the C major, Kk132, is almost Ravel-like.

The programming is impeccable: Chopin’s Fourth Ballade creeps in perfectly after the D minor Scarlatti, Kk141, and proceeds to a performance of sculpted phrases, …