Gabriel Fauré: Barcarolles, Thèmes & variations

Featuring

Giulio Biddau
Gabriel Fauré

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Compositional Technique

Fauré's early Barcarolles show influences from his training at the École Niedermeyer, including an interest in polyphony and modality, and also from composers like Chopin, Liszt, and Wagner.

Performer Biography

Giulio Biddau has won several international competitions, including the Casagrande, Iturbi, and Porrino competitions, and the First Prize at the Concours international des Nuits Pianistiques in Aix-en-Provence.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Fauré, like Proust in literature, viewed art as a means of transcendence, an effort to rise above reality, rather than merely imitating it.

Performer Biography

Giulio Biddau, the pianist on this album, began playing piano at age twelve and studied with notable teachers including Jean-Marc Luisada and Aldo Ciccolini.

Recording & Production

This album was recorded in October 2011 at the Théâtre Saint-Bonnet in Bourges, with artistic direction and sound engineering by Nicolas Bartholomée.

Interpretation

Pianist Giulio Biddau chose to record Gabriel Fauré's piano works, including the Barcarolles, because they are not widely known in his home country of Italy.

Composer Biography

Gabriel Fauré greatly admired Richard Wagner, so much so that his patron, Marguerite Baugnies, organized a raffle in 1888 to help him attend performances of Parsifal and Die Meistersinger in Bayreuth.