Pianist Giorgio Koukl studied with Nikita Magaloff, Jacques Février, and Stanislas Neuhaus, and also with Rudolf Firkušný, a friend and advocate of Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů.
Composition History
Tibor Harsányi contributed to the ballet Chota Roustaveli, a collective work with Arthur Honegger and Alexandre Tcherepnine, which premiered in 1946 with choreography by Serge Lifar.
Composition History
Harsányi's ballet score Légende canadienne was written in 1913 while he was visiting Paris, and his first large-scale work to be publicly premiered was also a ballet, Le Dernier songe (1920).
Composition History
The 'Improvisation sur la chanson 'Je vais revoir ma Normandie'' by Harsányi was likely written to celebrate the Allied Forces' arrival in Normandy, based on an 1836 song by Frédéric Bérat.
Performer Biography
Giorgio Koukl, the pianist on this recording, is considered one of the world's leading interpreters of Bohuslav Martinů's piano music, having recorded his complete solo piano works.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Tibor Harsányi, the composer, had a lifelong interest in modern dance, whether folk-based or classical, seeing it as a 'refuge of our aspirations'.
Recording & Production
This album includes several world premiere recordings of Tibor Harsányi's piano works.
