Samson Francois: Complete Recordings (CD + DVD)
£104.45
Usually available for despatch within 5-8 working days
Despatch Information
This despatch estimate is based on information from both our own stock and the UK supplier's stock.
If ordering multiple items, we will aim to send everything together so the longest despatch estimate will apply to the complete order.
If you would rather receive certain items more quickly, please place them on a separate order.
If any unexpected delays occur, we will keep you informed of progress via email and not allow other items on the order to be held up.
If you would prefer to receive everything together regardless of any delay, please let us know via email.
Pre-orders will be despatched as close as possible to the release date.
Label: Erato
Cat No: 9029526186
Format: CD
Number of Discs: 55
Release Date: 9th October 2020
Contents
Works
Chorale Prelude BWV639 'Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ' (arr. Busoni)Chorale Prelude BWV734 'Nun freut euch, lieben Christen gmein' (arr. Busoni)
Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV543 (trans. Franz Liszt)
Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, BWV564 (arr. Busoni)
Elegies (2), Sz41 op.8b BB49
Piano Concerto no.3, BB127, Sz119
Piano Sonata no.8 in C minor, op.13 'Pathetique'
Piano Sonata no.14 in C sharp minor, op.27 no.2 'Moonlight'
Piano Sonata no.23 in F minor, op.57 'Appassionata'
Concerto pastoral
Andante spianato and Grand Polonaise, op.22 (version for solo piano)
Andante spianato and Grand Polonaise, op.22
Ballades (4)
Barcarolle in F sharp major, op.60
Etudes (12), op.10
Etudes (12), op.25
Etudes, Nouvelles (3)
Fantasy in F minor, op.49
Impromptu no.1 in A flat major, op.29
Impromptu no.2 in F sharp major, op.36
Impromptu no.3 in G flat major, op.51
Impromptu no.4 in C sharp minor, op.66 'Fantaisie-Impromptu'
Mazurkas (51)
Nocturnes (21)
Piano Concerto no.2 in F minor, op.21
Piano Sonata no.2 in B flat minor, op.35 'Funeral March'
Piano Sonata no.3 in B minor, op.58
Polonaise no.1 in C sharp minor, op.26 no.1
Polonaise no.2 in E flat minor, op.26 no.2
Polonaise no.3 in A major, op.40 no.1 'Military'
Polonaise no.4 in C minor, op.40 no.2
Polonaise no.5 in F sharp minor, op.44
Polonaise no.6 in A flat major, op.53 'Heroic'
Polonaise no.7 in A flat major, op.61 'Polonaise-Fantaisie'
Polonaise no.8 in D minor, op.71 no.1
Polonaise no.9 in B flat major, op.71 no.2
Polonaise no.10 in F minor, op.71 no.3
Preludes (24), op.28
Rondo in C major, op.73 (two pianos)
Scherzi (4)
Tarentelle in A flat major, op.43
Waltzes (19)
Berceuse heroique
Children's Corner
Estampes (3)
Etudes pour piano (6), Book 2
Images pour piano, Book 2
L'Isle joyeuse
La Plus que lente, L121
Masques
Pour le piano
Preludes (12), Book 1
Preludes (12), Book 2
Suite bergamasque
Impromptus (6)
Nocturne no.4 in E flat major, op.36
Nocturne no.6 in D flat major, op.63
Piano Quintet in F minor, FWV7
Prelude, Chorale and Fugue
Symphonic Variations for piano and orchestra
Ballade pour un voyou
Magies noires
Theme and Variations 'Die vier Temperamente' (The Four Temperaments)
Annees de Pelerinage, 2nd Year, S161
Reminiscences de Don Juan (Mozart), S418
Valse Impromptu, S213
Rondo capriccioso in E major, op.14
Songs without Words (Lieder ohne Worte): Book 1, op.19b
Variations (12) in C major on 'Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman', K265
Piano Concerto no.3 in C major, op.26
Piano Concerto no.5 in G major, op.55
Piano Sonata no.7 in B flat major, op.83
Toccata in D minor, op.11
Visions fugitives, op.22
A la maniere de Chabrier
Gaspard de la nuit
Jeux d'eau
Le Tombeau de Couperin
Ma Mere l'Oye (Mother Goose) (arr. for four hands)
Menuet antique
Menuet sur le nom de Haydn
Miroirs
Pavane pour une infante defunte (piano)
Piano Concerto in D major for the left hand
Piano Concerto in G major
Prelude in A minor
Sonatine
Valses nobles et sentimentales
Etudes (6), op.111
Etudes symphoniques, op.13
Impromptus (10) on a theme of Clara Wieck, op.5
Kinderszenen, op.15
Papillons, op.2
Piano Concerto in A minor, op.54
Piano Sonata no.3 in F minor, op.14
Piano Sonata no.3 in F sharp minor, op.23
Artists
Samson Francois (piano)Pierre Barbizet (piano)
Christian Garros (drums)
Jimmy Gourley (guitar)
Pierre Michelot (double bass)
Maurice Vander (piano)
Quatuor Bernede
Orchestre de chambre de Toulouse
Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire
Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise
Orchestre National de la RTF
Orchestre national de l’Opera de Monte-Carlo
Philharmonia Orchestra
Tokyo Symphony Orchestra
Conductors
Louis AuriacombeAndre Cluytens
Samson Francois
Louis Fremaux
Paul Kletzki
Lorin Maazel
Charles Munch
Constantin Silvestri
Witold Rowicki
Georges Tzipine
Masashi Ueda
David Zinman
Works
Chorale Prelude BWV639 'Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ' (arr. Busoni)Chorale Prelude BWV734 'Nun freut euch, lieben Christen gmein' (arr. Busoni)
Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV543 (trans. Franz Liszt)
Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, BWV564 (arr. Busoni)
Elegies (2), Sz41 op.8b BB49
Piano Concerto no.3, BB127, Sz119
Piano Sonata no.8 in C minor, op.13 'Pathetique'
Piano Sonata no.14 in C sharp minor, op.27 no.2 'Moonlight'
Piano Sonata no.23 in F minor, op.57 'Appassionata'
Concerto pastoral
Andante spianato and Grand Polonaise, op.22 (version for solo piano)
Andante spianato and Grand Polonaise, op.22
Ballades (4)
Barcarolle in F sharp major, op.60
Etudes (12), op.10
Etudes (12), op.25
Etudes, Nouvelles (3)
Fantasy in F minor, op.49
Impromptu no.1 in A flat major, op.29
Impromptu no.2 in F sharp major, op.36
Impromptu no.3 in G flat major, op.51
Impromptu no.4 in C sharp minor, op.66 'Fantaisie-Impromptu'
Mazurkas (51)
Nocturnes (21)
Piano Concerto no.2 in F minor, op.21
Piano Sonata no.2 in B flat minor, op.35 'Funeral March'
Piano Sonata no.3 in B minor, op.58
Polonaise no.1 in C sharp minor, op.26 no.1
Polonaise no.2 in E flat minor, op.26 no.2
Polonaise no.3 in A major, op.40 no.1 'Military'
Polonaise no.4 in C minor, op.40 no.2
Polonaise no.5 in F sharp minor, op.44
Polonaise no.6 in A flat major, op.53 'Heroic'
Polonaise no.7 in A flat major, op.61 'Polonaise-Fantaisie'
Polonaise no.8 in D minor, op.71 no.1
Polonaise no.9 in B flat major, op.71 no.2
Polonaise no.10 in F minor, op.71 no.3
Preludes (24), op.28
Rondo in C major, op.73 (two pianos)
Scherzi (4)
Tarentelle in A flat major, op.43
Waltzes (19)
Berceuse heroique
Children's Corner
Estampes (3)
Etudes pour piano (6), Book 2
Images pour piano, Book 2
L'Isle joyeuse
La Plus que lente, L121
Masques
Pour le piano
Preludes (12), Book 1
Preludes (12), Book 2
Suite bergamasque
Impromptus (6)
Nocturne no.4 in E flat major, op.36
Nocturne no.6 in D flat major, op.63
Piano Quintet in F minor, FWV7
Prelude, Chorale and Fugue
Symphonic Variations for piano and orchestra
Ballade pour un voyou
Magies noires
Theme and Variations 'Die vier Temperamente' (The Four Temperaments)
Annees de Pelerinage, 2nd Year, S161
Reminiscences de Don Juan (Mozart), S418
Valse Impromptu, S213
Rondo capriccioso in E major, op.14
Songs without Words (Lieder ohne Worte): Book 1, op.19b
Variations (12) in C major on 'Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman', K265
Piano Concerto no.3 in C major, op.26
Piano Concerto no.5 in G major, op.55
Piano Sonata no.7 in B flat major, op.83
Toccata in D minor, op.11
Visions fugitives, op.22
A la maniere de Chabrier
Gaspard de la nuit
Jeux d'eau
Le Tombeau de Couperin
Ma Mere l'Oye (Mother Goose) (arr. for four hands)
Menuet antique
Menuet sur le nom de Haydn
Miroirs
Pavane pour une infante defunte (piano)
Piano Concerto in D major for the left hand
Piano Concerto in G major
Prelude in A minor
Sonatine
Valses nobles et sentimentales
Etudes (6), op.111
Etudes symphoniques, op.13
Impromptus (10) on a theme of Clara Wieck, op.5
Kinderszenen, op.15
Papillons, op.2
Piano Concerto in A minor, op.54
Piano Sonata no.3 in F minor, op.14
Piano Sonata no.3 in F sharp minor, op.23
Artists
Samson Francois (piano)Pierre Barbizet (piano)
Christian Garros (drums)
Jimmy Gourley (guitar)
Pierre Michelot (double bass)
Maurice Vander (piano)
Quatuor Bernede
Orchestre de chambre de Toulouse
Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire
Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Francaise
Orchestre National de la RTF
Orchestre national de l’Opera de Monte-Carlo
Philharmonia Orchestra
Tokyo Symphony Orchestra
Conductors
Louis AuriacombeAndre Cluytens
Samson Francois
Louis Fremaux
Paul Kletzki
Lorin Maazel
Charles Munch
Constantin Silvestri
Witold Rowicki
Georges Tzipine
Masashi Ueda
David Zinman
About
This 55-disc box set marks 50 years since the death, on 22 October 1970 at the age of just 46, of the French pianist (and composer) Samson François. The box is an expanded version of a collection first released 10 years ago. This new edition places all recordings in the context of their original couplings and the CD wallet designs feature the original artwork.
Samson François was a brilliant, inspired pianist, particularly identified with the music of Chopin, Debussy and Ravel. His playing combines the proverbial clarity of the French school with a visceral immediacy and spontaneity. François himself said that a pianist “should never sound under any obligation to play the next note,” or feel constrained by barlines. Gramophone magazine has noted the “strange and alluring genius” of his playing, describing it as “alive with personal magic” and sharing “every imaginative possibility”.
Samson François’s life was colourful, even dramatic. He was born in Frankfurt in 1924 to a French family that moved from country to country, and he often took a creative approach to his own biography. A charismatic, sometimes provocative figure, he achieved celebrity status, notably in France and Japan, and was renowned for his charm and eloquence. His lifestyle was idiosyncratic and undisciplined. A heavy smoker and drinker, he liked to stay up all night, often in jazz clubs. In 1968 he suffered a heart attack on stage, dying two years later.
François’s credentials as a French pianist were impeccable. After initial studies in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, he became a student in Nice and subsequently in Paris, where, on the recommendation of Alfred Cortot, his teachers were Yvonne Lefébure (at the École Normale de Musique, co-founded by Cortot in 1919) and Marguerite Long (at the Paris Conservatoire). He also studied harmony with the great composition teacher Nadia Boulanger. He first performed a concerto in Paris (Liszt’s Piano Concerto no.1) in 1941, at the age of just 17, but his career was well and truly launched by his victory in the inaugural Long-Thibaud Competition in 1943. Beyond France, he appeared around Europe, the USA, the Middle East and Japan, and broke ground with his performances in the Soviet Union and China.
During his life, François achieved star status in France and Japan. However, the limited currency of his recordings in some other markets meant that his genius was not fully recognised everywhere. Be that as it may, there can be no doubt that he was one of the leading French pianists of his time – and probably the greatest of them.
For this 2020 release, three major additions have been made to the contents of the 2010 collection:
• The long-awaited world premiere release of a recording of François’s penultimate live recital, which took place in June 1970 – just four months before his death – at the Nohant Festival in central France. He performs music by Schumann and Ravel, but the venue has a special association with his beloved Chopin: Nohant was the country home of Chopin’s mistress George Sand.
• A recital recorded at the Nissay Theatre in Tokyo in 1969 (Franck, Fauré, Debussy)
• The 1998 documentary Samson François l’enchanteur, directed by Christian Girier and written by the pianist’s son, Maximilien François, available for the first time in DVD.
Error on this page? Let us know here
Need more information on this product? Click here