Mel Bonis: Complete Music for Solo Piano, Volume One

Featuring

Mengyiyi Chen
Mel Bonis
Gabriel Fauré

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Composer Biography

Mélanie Bonis, born in Paris in 1858, adopted the pen name Mel Bonis to conceal her gender on publications, as an English writer once praised 'his' dignified style.

Composer Biography

Mel Bonis was accepted into the Paris Conservatoire in 1876, where her contemporaries included notable composers like Claude Debussy and Ernest Chausson.

Cultural Impact

The 21st century has seen a significant increase in Mel Bonis' reputation, driven by new biographies, theses, articles, and recordings of her works.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Mel Bonis' piano music, composed over a long period, shows a stylistic diversity that suggests she aimed to outline the historical development of piano music, blending historical reminiscences with her personal tonal language.

Performer Biography

Mengyiyi Chen, the pianist on this album, began playing piano at age four and has won major international competitions, including the 2015 Helen Taylor Johannsen International Piano Competition.

Critical Reception

Despite her talent, Mel Bonis' music was largely overlooked in the 20th century, with one critic in 1967 doubting its revival due to the 'catastrophic influence of 'progress' in the arts'.