Queen Hortense de Beauharnais (1783—1837), daughter of the Empress Joséphine, wife of Louis Bonaparte and mother of the future Napoleon III, was a prolific composer and a central figure in the musical life of the first 19th century. Author of more than 150 romances, she actively participated in the musical aesthetics of the Consulate and the Empire, especially in the salons of Malmaison, before continuing this activity in exile at Arenenberg Castle. His romances, which were very popular at the time, were part of the taste for an intimate, natural and sentimental expression, characteristic of the living room repertoire.

Recorded during the 2nd Whitsun Festival in Malmaison, this record is the result of a partnership between the National Museum of the Castles of Malmaison and Bois-Préau and La Nouvelle Athène — Center for Romantic Pianos. It brings together works by Hortense de Beauharnais as well as composers appreciated by the Napoleonic court or inspired by her work, including Louis Adam, Jan Ladislav Dussek, Giovanni Paisiello, Ferdinando Paer, Ferdinando Paer, Vincenzo Paer, Vincenzo Bellini, Vincenzo Bellini, Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel, Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel, George Onslow and Franz Schubert. The program compares vocal romances, instrumental pieces and variations, testifying to the richness and diversity of the musical repertoire of this period.

The interpreters gathered for this recording are Clara Hugo, Coline Dutilleul, Daniel Dutilleul, Daniel Thomson, Daniel Thomson, Arnaud Marzorati, David Ghilardi, Imanol Iraola and Patrick Wibart for the vocal parts, as well as Masumi Nagasawa, Alexis Kossenko, Kossenko, Eloy, Francesco, Francesco Romano, Francesco Romano, Francesco Romano, Francesco Romano, Francesco Romano, Francesco Romano, Luca Montebugnoli, Luca Montebugnoli, Eloy Torbianelli, Aline Zylberajch, Laura Granero, Sebastian Bausch, Eloy Orzaiz Galarza and Pernelle Marzorati for the instrumental parts. The works are performed on period instruments — piano Carré Érard 1806, piano Rosenberger 1825, harp Naderman 1815, guitar Fabricatore 1827 — in a historically informed approach, in the very heart of the places where this music was initially conceived and heard.

This live album brings together works by Frédéric Chopin and Auguste Franchomme, testifying to the artistic collaboration and friendship that united the Polish composer and the French cellist in the musical Paris of the 1830s and 1840s. Their relationship is based on a deep aesthetic affinity, based on the search for instrumental bel canto, the sobriety of expression and the balance of forms, in a musical context marked by the opposition between an elite culture and the rise of a taste for excess and spectacular virtuosity.

The program highlights Chopin's Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor op. 65, a work created in a private setting by Chopin and Franchomme, then partially performed during the composer's last public appearance at the Salons Pleyel in February 1848. This sonata, mentioned by Chopin in his correspondence as particularly demanding, combines almost improvised creativity with rigorously controlled architecture. The slow movement, originally planned in another position according to Franchomme's autograph manuscript, concentrates a remarkable poetic intensity, while the whole work reveals a constant search for cantability, fusion and transparency between piano and cello.

The interpretation is provided by Edoardo Torbianelli, Pleyel piano from 1842, and Fernando Caida-Greco, Miremont cello from 1880. The two musicians have been collaborating since 2000 and base their joint work on a thorough research of the aesthetic and technical sources of the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as on the study of interpretive practices from the turn of the 20th century. This approach, nourished by a detailed knowledge of historical instruments and styles of performance, aims to restore a shared language from the great romantic tradition, of which this live record is a testimony.

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This album is devoted to the sacred work of the Renaissance composer Pierre Colin, active in the 16th century and for a long time remained poorly documented despite the significant distribution of his works in major European religious centers. The program brings together two masses, Missa Estans assis and Missa Ave Gloriosa, as well as a Magnificat and several motets, completed by a transcription for organ alone of the song L'Oeil dict enough if it is heard. The recording offers a representative overview of Pierre Colin's liturgical writing, based on the technique of syntactic imitation and on a constant attention to the intelligibility of the text.

The interpretation is provided by the La Note Brève ensemble, specialized in Middle Ages and Renaissance repertoires. The musical direction is entrusted to Simon Gallot. The solo and vocal parts are performed by Laura Cartier, soprano, Marie Remandet, soprano, Marie Remandet, mezzo-soprano, Josquin Gest, countertenor, Jean-Noël Poggiali, tenor, and Simon Gallot, tenor, and Simon Gallot, bass. The instrumental accompaniment is provided by Ryoko Katayama on the positive organ. The ensemble works from original sources, facsimiles and period treatises, in an approach based on current musicological research.

The recording was made in 2021 at the church of Gigors-et-Lozeron, in Drôme. Production is provided by the Paraty label, under the direction of Bruno Procopio. Sound recording and mastering were done by Enrico Fiocco. The texts of the booklet are signed Jean Duchamp, with an English translation by Jeremy Harrison. This disc is the first worldwide recording devoted to this corpus of works by Pierre Colin and is part of the rediscovery work carried out by La Note Brève around Renaissance music.

This recording is dedicated to works for piano for four hands by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, bringing together two major sonatas, the Sonatas in F major KV 497 and in C major KV 521, as well as the Andante and Variations in G major KV 501. These works date from Mozart's Viennese period, between 1786 and 1787, when he was at the height of his creative maturity. The sonatas reflect an elaborate style of writing, in which Mozart goes beyond the traditional hierarchy between primo and secondo to develop a genuine polyphonic and concerting dialogue.

The interpretation is provided by Morgane Le Corre and Knut Jacques, united in the Pégase Duo. The two musicians approach this repertoire on a five-octave fortepiano after Anton Walter, made by Christopher Clarke, an instrument representative of those used by Mozart in Vienna. Their approach highlights the specificities of writing with four hands, the richness of textures, the contrasts of registers and the diversity of characters, from orchestral effects to passages evoking chamber music.

The recording was made at the Villefavard Farm in February 2019. Production is provided by the Paraty label under the direction of Bruno Procopio, with sound recording and mastering carried out by Mathilde Genas. The texts of the booklet are signed by Adelaïde de Place. This record is part of the fundamental work of Duo Pégase devoted to the repertoire for four hands, with particular attention paid to historically informed interpretation and to period instruments.

The Art of Fugue by Johann Sebastian Bach is performed here by Kenneth Weiss on harpsichord. Composed during the last ten years of Bach's life, the work consists of fourteen fugues, called Contrapunctus, and four cannons, all constructed from a single subject in D minor. This work constitutes Bach's ultimate and most successful exploration of the field of contrapuntal writing, with each fugue progressively developing the complexity of the musical material through the reversal, the increase, the decrease, the mirror composition, and the introduction of new themes derived from the original subject.

Kenneth Weiss began working on the Art of Fugue in its entirety in 2020, a period during which the interruption of musical life allowed him to immerse himself in this work on a daily basis. The last counterpoint, Contrapunctus XIV, left unfinished, introduces the B-A-C-H motif corresponding to the composer's musical signature. This final break is presented as an open conclusion, making incompleteness a constituent element of the work itself.

The recording was made on May 16 and 17, 2021 at the Centro Cultural de Belém in Lisbon, on a Pascal Taskin harpsichord built in Paris in 1782, belonging to the Museu Nacional da Música. This historic instrument, restored from 2016, is known as Taskin Colares. The album was co-produced by Paraty and the Museu Nacional da Música, with sound recording and mastering provided by Hugo Romano Guimarães.

Bach in a Circle is a project designed and performed by pianist and composer Joanna Goodale, offering a dialogue between works by Johann Sebastian Bach and adaptations inspired by Sufi music. The program compares original Bach pieces with transcriptions or arrangements made by Joanna Goodale, built around cyclic forms, repetitive patterns and a search for spiritual resonance common to these two musical worlds.

The album is based on works by Johann Sebastian Bach such as Fantasy and Fugue in C Minor BWV 906, preludes and fugues from the Well Tempered Clavier, and the Adagio BWV 974. These pieces dialogue with adaptations and compositions by Joanna Goodale, inspired by Sufi songs from Turkey and Iran, mystical poems by Yunus Emre and Rûmi, and traditional rhythms. Some pieces incorporate objects placed in piano strings to evoke the tones of Middle Eastern instruments.

Recorded in October 2018 at Studio Ansermet in Geneva, Bach in a Circle is performed by Joanna Goodale on the Steinway & Sons model D piano prepared. The album is dedicated to the memory of the pianist Alain Kremski. It was co-produced by Paraty and RTS Radio Télévision Suisse — Espace 2, with sound recording, editing and mastering by Mathilde Genas.

This recording marks the first disc by pianist Jean-Jacques Bedikian and is entirely devoted to Sergei Rachmaninov's Études-Tableaux, combining the two cycles Op. 33 (1911) and Op. 39 (1917). The program presents all of these works for solo piano, organized in a succession of seventeen pieces exploring a great diversity of characters, tempi, and expressive climates. The Études-Tableaux occupy a central place in Rachmaninov's piano catalog and constitute a major part of his keyboard writing.

Through these works, Jean-Jacques Bedikian approaches Études-Tableaux as “sound paintings”, using an approach that highlights the expressive richness, harmonic density and emotional depth of this music. The pianist places his interpretation in a claimed connection with the tradition of the Russian school, considering piano technique as a means at the service of musical expression. The booklet gives the floor to Jean-Jacques Bedikian in an interview conducted by Lionel Pons, in which he discusses his career, his musical influences and his personal relationship with Rachmaninov's work.

The recording was made in April 2021 at the Salle Colonne, on a Steinway D piano tuned by Bastien Herbin. Sound recording is provided by Pierre Jacquot, with editing and mastering done by Olivier Marzullo and Lucie Bourely.

This disc offers a musical setting of texts by Jean de La Fontaine, gathered under the title Contes eux, in a project combining spoken voice, singing and piano. The texts selected highlight a lesser-known aspect of La Fontaine's work, far removed from the sole tradition of fables intended for children, and are part of a contemporary literary and musical approach. The entire program is designed as a series of short pieces, designed to restore the flavor of the verb, the rhythm of the text and its narrative dimension.

The interpretation brings together Jean-François Novelli, voice, and Antoine Sahler, piano and compositions. Antoine Sahler signs all of the original music, written specifically for this project, with constant attention to the prosody and intelligibility of the text. Jean-François Novelli provides diction and singing, giving substance to the stories through precise articulation and an assumed theatrical approach. The project was born from the artistic encounter between the two performers, with the common desire to make La Fontaine heard in a renewed musical framework.

The artistic direction is entrusted to Juliette, the graphic creation to Antoine Vivier, and the texts of the booklet are signed Jean-François Novelli. This disc is part of an approach aimed at combining French literature and contemporary musical creation, by offering a musical reading of La Fontaine's Tales intended for an adult audience.

This recording offers an overview of André Raison's Second Organ Book, published in 1714, through a selection of emblematic extracts, compared with Noëls from Christmas stamps published by Christophe Ballard in 1703. The program is organized around two main sections: The Long Desired Peace, centered on the antiphon Da Pacem Domine and its developments in preludes, fugues and overture, then a vast series of Christmases illustrating the mystery of the Incarnation, from pastoral scenes to popular devotion. This construction reflects the spiritual and formal unity of the collection, considered to be one of the last major manifestations of Grand Siècle aesthetics.

The Jean de Joyeuse organ (1694) in Sainte-Marie Cathedral in Auch is run by Jean-Christophe Revel, who is also in charge of the artistic direction of the project. The vocal parts use a formation of three male voices, according to a practice attested at the end of the 17th century, with Vincent Lièvre-Picard (high-contra), Lisandro Nesis (size) and Jean-Manuel Candenot (low-rise). Several Noëls are presented either in monody or in polyphony with three voices, in arrangements made by Jean-Pascal Chaigne, respecting the historical sources and liturgical uses of the time.

The recording was made in May 2018 in the Sainte-Marie Cathedral in Auch, maintaining the natural sounds linked to the instrument and the place. The choice of registrations is based on the indications of contemporary game tables by André Raison and the factor Jean de Joyeuse, as well as on the prefaces of the composer's organ books. This project is part of a process of historical restoration aimed at contextualizing André Raison's Second Organ Book, by combining organ and voice to restore the narrative and spiritual dimension of this repertoire.

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This recording brings together four piano trios by composer Jean-Charles Gandrille, performed by Jean-Charles Gandrille on piano, David Galoustov on violin and Grégoire Korniluk on cello. The recorded works are Nox-Trio, Trio n°1 op.31 (2010), Pop-Trio, Trio n°2 op.43 (2011—2013), Triads, Trio n°3 op.57 (2016—2017) and An Angel..., Trio n°4 op.85 (2021—2022). The entire program is part of the piano trio genre, a formation combining violin, cello and piano, chosen by the composer for its contrapuntal, melodic and harmonic potential. In these trios, Jean-Charles Gandrille explores influences from both classical music and dance or popular music. Nox-Trio opposes two contrasting movements, Cantus and Contrapunctus. Pop-Trio is characterized by a pulsation inspired by pop music, while Triads takes its name from the recurrent use of perfect chords in their fundamental state. The second movement of Triads, entitled Auschwitz Impressions, is inspired by the composer's visit to the Auschwitz camp in 2016 and is a tribute to the victims.

An Angel..., the fourth and final trio on the recording, was written especially for this record and for the interpretation of David Galoustov and Grégoire Korniluk. Its thematic material comes from a passage from the Christmas Oratorio, op.78, by Jean-Charles Gandrille, on a text by Jean de La Ceppède, a 16th century poet. The recording was made on July 4, 2023 at Sonchamp Church, with sound recording, editing, mixing and mastering provided by Grégoire Korniluk and Tristan Devaux, under the Paraty label.

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This recording brings together the complete sonatas for cello and piano by Ludwig van Beethoven, performed by the cellist Marie-Claude Bantigny and the pianist Romano Pallottini. The five sonatas cover the entire creative career of the composer, from the two Opus 5 sonatas composed in 1796 to the works of Opus 102 written between 1815 and 1816. They bear witness to Beethoven's stylistic evolution and to his innovative approach to the dialogue between cello and piano.

The two sonatas in Opus 5 were dedicated to King Frederick William II of Prussia and incorporate techniques from the cellistic writing of Jean-Louis Duport. Sonata No. 3 in A major, Opus 69, belongs to Beethoven's so-called “middle” period and was dedicated to Baron Ignaz von Gleichenstein. It was probably created by the cellist Joseph Linke with Carl Czerny at the piano. This work is distinguished by its formal balance and its thematic invention.

The two sonatas of Opus 102 mark Beethoven's entry into his late period. Composed between 1815 and 1816 and dedicated to Countess Marie von Erdödy, they herald new formal freedoms and daring rhythmic and melodic writing. The recording was made during the concert on April 2, 2017 at the Salle Colonne, on Steinway piano, under the artistic direction of the Paraty label.

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This album is dedicated to the Twelve Fantasies for solo violin by Georg Philipp Telemann, published in 1735 in Hamburg. These works are part of an important series of fantasy cycles composed by Telemann in the early 1730s, including fantasies for flute, viola and harpsichord. Violin fantasies explore a great diversity of forms, characters, and tones, covering ten different keys, from F minor to E major, and alternating slow and fast movements in flexible and free patterns.

The violin, an essentially melodic instrument, is treated as an instrument capable of suggesting polyphonic writing by playing the ellipse and the implicit. Fantasies incorporate elements evoking preludes, fugues, dances or choruses without ever explicitly naming them. Their concise and varied writing allows great freedom of interpretation and highlights the ability of the violin to evoke different expressive registers, from singing to dance, from contrapuntal discourse to instrumental virtuosity.

The interpretation is provided by the violinist Hélène Houzel, who approaches these works as a musical, educational and imaginary journey. The booklet highlights the soloist's long-standing relationship with these fantasies, nourished by her activities as a concert artist and teacher, as well as by a personal reflection on the solitude of the solo violin. The recording was made from 28 to 31 October 2019 at the Théâtre du Grand Orme in Feings. The production is provided by Paraty, in co-production with Animus, with artistic direction by Aude-Marie Piloz and Patrick Bismuth.

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This disc brings together piano works by Russian composers covering a wide period of time, from César Cui to Kirill Zaborov, performed by the pianist Giancarlo Crespeau. The program includes the Nocturne op. 22 no. 3 and two Preludes op. 64 by César Cui, the Third Piano Sonata op. 23 by Alexander Scriabin, the Third Piano Sonata op. 28 by Sergei Prokofiev, and the Prelude and Fugue op. 87 no. 24 by Dmitri Shostakovich.

The disc also features two works by Kirill Zaborov: the Vermeer Sonata, composed in 2018 and dedicated to his parents, and the Vienna Variations, composed in 2010. These contemporary pieces are part of an aesthetic continuity combining formal tradition and expressiveness, while integrating elements from various Russian and Western currents. The entire program highlights a constant search for balance between musical structure and inner expression.

Giancarlo Crespeau, French pianist and composer born in 1985, interprets the entire program. A child prodigy, trained at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris in the class of Jacques Rouvier, he has performed in Europe, Russia and Asia. He collaborates regularly with the composer Kirill Zaborov and in this recording gives the world premiere of the Vermeer Sonata and the Vienna Variations. The recording was made in April 2021 at the Salle Colonne in Paris on a Steinway D piano.

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This recording brings together the Geneva Piano Trio around two major works from the piano trio repertoire by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaninov. The ensemble is composed of Irina Shkurindina on piano, Sergey Ostrovsky on violin, and Dan Slutskovski on cello. The program combines Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio in A Minor, Op. 50, op. 50, subtitled In Memory of a Great Artist, and Rachmaninov's Elegiac Trio No. 1 in G Minor.

Tchaikovsky's Trio op. 50, composed in 1881—1882, is structured in two main parts: a first movement Pezzo elegiaco, followed by a vast Tema con variazioni including a series of contrasting variations and a final coda. This work pays tribute to Nikolai Rubinstein, pianist and founder of the Moscow Conservatory. The interpretation proposed by Irina Shkurindina, Sergey Ostrovsky, and Dan Slutskovski highlights the formal architecture and expressive richness of this score.

Sergei Rachmaninov's Elegiac Trio No. 1, composed in 1892, completes the program. Written in a single movement, it testifies to Tchaikovsky's stylistic influence on the young composer. The Geneva Piano Trio interprets this work alongside the Tchaikovsky trio, offering a coherent overview of the Russian romantic repertoire for piano trio, carried by Irina Shkurindina, Sergey Ostrovsky and Dan Slutskovsky.

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This album is devoted to piano works by Franz Schubert, performed by the pianist Ferenc Vizi. The program includes the Piano Sonata in A major D 664, composed in the summer of 1819, as well as the Four Impromptus D 935, written in December 1827. These works belong to the last years of Schubert's production and bear witness to different forms of the composer's piano writing, between sonatas and character pieces.

The Sonata D 664 is structured in three movements, Allegro moderato, Andante and Allegro, and is part of a period marked by Schubert's trip to Upper Austria, in particular to Linz and Steyr. The Four Impromptus D 935 form a coherent cycle through their tonal relationships and formal frameworks. The third impromptu takes up a theme from Rosamunde incidental music, also used by Schubert in the slow movement of the D 804 String Quartet.

Ferenc Vizi interprets these works on the Steinway D piano. The recording was made on 6 and 7 May 2020 at the Salle Colonne in Paris. Production is provided by Paraty, with sound recording and mastering entrusted to Cécile Lenoir.

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The album Spirales is devoted to a program for saxophone and chamber formations, bringing together works and arrangements covering a broad spectrum of modern and contemporary repertoire, from Hector Berlioz to Ondřej Adámek, Gérard Grisey, Philippe Grisey, Philippe Leroux, Philippe Leroux, Philippe Leroux, Philippe Leroux, Philippe Leroux, Philippe Leroux, Philippe Leroux, Philippe Leroux, Philippe Hurel, Anton Webern, Camille Saint-Saëns and Maurice Ravel. The program explores different formations ranging from solo saxophones to ensembles combining saxophones, violin, piano, clarinet and voice, with a common thread centered on the notion of sound spiral, movement and transformation of musical time.

The interpreters gathered for this recording are Eudes Bernstein on saxophones, Misako Akama on violin, Orlando Bass on piano, Filippo Biuso on clarinet, Jeanne Crousaud soprano and Joakim Ciesla on saxophone. Several works are presented in arrangements specifically made for this disc by Eudes Bernstein or Yann Stoffel, including Un Bal from Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, La Danse Macabre by Saint-Saëns and La Valse by Ravel, and La Valse by Ravel, adapted for chamber formations centered around the saxophone.

The recording was made in February 2021 at the Conservatory of Departmental Radiation in Aulnay-sous-Bois. Production is provided by Paraty, under the direction of Bruno Procopio. Sound recording and mastering were entrusted to Julien Aléonard, who is also the artistic director with Eudes Bernstein. The texts of the booklet are signed by Rodolphe Bruneau-Boulmier and Claude Delangle.

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The album The Four Seasons of a Hermit Musician is devoted to chamber music works and solo pieces based on the guitar by composer Éric Pénicaud. The program is structured around a cycle in four parts — Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn — to which are added independent pieces, improvisations and concerted works, all part of a reflection on time, solitude, nature and musical transmission.

The performers gathered for this recording are Sébastien Llinarès on guitar, Nicolas Lescourgues on guitar, Christian Nadalet at the direction, Christophe Vallet on voice, as well as the musicians of the Cordes et Âmes ensemble. Some works associate the guitar with the voice or the string ensemble, while others are designed as solo pieces or improvised forms, according to the instructions specified in the booklet.

The recording was made in 2020. Production is provided by Paraty. The booklet presents the project as an intimate musical journey, thought of as a personal journey of the composer, in which the guitar plays a central role, both as a solo instrument and as a point of convergence between contemporary writing, improvisation and chamber music.

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The album WAVES brings together four works for chamber ensemble by Edith Canat de Chizy, composed between 2006 and 2020. The program includes Outrenoir (2020) for viola and ensemble, Waves breaking against the wind (2006) for flute and ensemble, Missing II (2020), transcript for ensemble of the missing violin concerto (2016), and Pluie, Vapeur, Vitesse (2007) for ensemble. Three of these works were commissioned by the Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain, produced with the support of the writing assistance program of the Ministry of Culture.

The interpretation is provided by the Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain under the direction of Bruno Mantovani. The soloists are Patrick Oriol on viola, Fabrice Jünger on flute and Gaël Rassaert on violin. The works are part of a reflection on the relationship between pictorial matter and sound material, with particular reference to the worlds of Pierre Soulages and William Turner, as mentioned by the composer in the booklet.

The recording was made between December 2020 and January 2022 at the Maison de la Culture Le Corbusier in Firminy and at La Comète in Saint-Étienne. The production is provided by Paraty and the Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain. Sound recording, mixing and mastering were entrusted to Antoine Mercier. The texts of the booklet are signed by François Porcile and Edith Canat de Chizy.

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