Fauré: Piano Music – Nicolas Stavy

   in Piano International (May, 2019)
French pianist Nicolas Stavy is a persuasive advocate of Fauré’s unique and elusive muse. Th is distinguished recital ranges through early and middle-period radiance to the tragic rhetoric of the final Nocturnes via two student works, recorded here for the first time.

The appearance of a Piano Sonata (still unpublished) will raise a few eyebrows, particularly when you hear a teasing echo of Beethoven’s Sonata in G major Op 14/2 and catch a mischievous twinkle as Fauré parodies the classical style. A previously unknown Mazurka adds another enterprising touch, its harmonic spice reminiscent of Chopin. Th e three Songs Without Words offer a clear tribute to Mendelssohn combined with a sophistication …