Oswald, Saint-Saëns & Nepomuceno: Piano Works

Featuring

Clélia Iruzun
Jac van Steen
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Henrique Oswald
Camille Saint-Saëns
Alberto Nepomuceno

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Composition History

Alberto Nepomuceno's Suite Antiga was written during a stay with Edvard Grieg at his home in Troldhaugen, and Grieg was so impressed he persuaded his publishers to release it.

Compositional Technique

The second movement of Saint-Saëns's 'Egyptian' Concerto includes a melody described as a 'Nubian love song' that he heard sung by boatmen on the Nile and wrote down on his sleeve.

Composition History

Camille Saint-Saëns's Piano Concerto No. 5, nicknamed 'Egyptian', was composed in Egypt in 1896 for a gala concert marking the 50th anniversary of his debut at the Salle Pleyel.

Compositional Technique

A passage in the second movement of Saint-Saëns's 'Egyptian' Concerto features high repeating figures that the composer likened to chirping crickets and croaking frogs, possibly influenced by Javanese gamelan music.

Compositional Technique

Nepomuceno's Suite Antiga is closely modeled on Grieg's Suite from Holberg's Time, borrowing its subtitle 'Suite in the Old Style' and the names for three of its four movements.

Composer Biography

Henrique Oswald, a Brazilian composer, spent around 30 years in Florence, Italy, where he studied piano and was introduced to Johannes Brahms and Franz Liszt.

Composer Biography

Alberto Nepomuceno, a Brazilian composer and conductor, studied in Europe and later became Director of the Instituto Nacional de Música in Rio de Janeiro, succeeding Henrique Oswald.