CARLO GRANTE PLAYS RAVEL: Miroirs (Mirrors). Pavane pour une infante défunte (Pavane for a Dead Princess). Gaspard de la nuit: Trois poèmes pour piano d'après Aloysius Bertrand.

When pianists think of Gaspard de la nuit, their hearts stop. Ravel’s masterpiece, as famous for its depiction of Aloysius Bertrand’s dark, hallucinatory poems as it is infamous for its stunning virtuosity, is like a realistic dream, a lucid world of darkness and terror, evoked through refinement and detail.

 The title Miroirs (Mirrors) suggests the reflections of things or objects. In this case the reflections that we see are those of night moths, birds, a boat on the ocean, a Spanish song with imitation of guitars and the sounding of bells in a valley. These pieces create an intense atmosphere and the mood each piece sets evokes the exact images that each title suggests.

 Carlo Grante’s masterful artistry vividly brings to life Ravel’s highly imagistic music.

Reviews

“Grante has immense sensitivity as well as technical command. Both, of course, are to the fore in Gaspard. This version of Gaspard deserves a place in the pantheon of the greats….”

—Colin Clarke, Fanfare, 2015 

“I think it is fair to say that for the Miroirs you will never find a better recording than this new one.”

—Donald R. Vroon, American Record Guide, 2015 

Grante adds his name to the great Gaspards—those of Argerich, Gieseking, Mogilevsky, Pizarro, Michelangeli, Perlemuter, et al.—by having created a panoply of colors and harmonic dimensions that collaborate to “visualize” our collective, walking nightmares.

—Gary Lemco, Audiophile Auditon, June 12, 2015