Chopin: 4 Ballades, Prelude Op. 45, Scherzo Op. 54 & Baracarolle Op. 60 Philippe Bianconi

• 1Ballade No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 2309:53
• 2Ballade No. 2 in F Major, Op. 3807:45
• 3Prélude in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 4505:30
• 4Ballade No. 3 in A-Flat Major, Op. 4707:42
• 5Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 5212:00
• 6Scherzo No. 4 in E Major, Op. 5412:00
• 7Baracarolle in F Sharp-Major, Op. 6009:02
• Total Runtime01:03:52

Info for Chopin: 4 Ballades, Prelude Op. 45, Scherzo Op. 54 & Baracarolle Op. 60

Since his success at the Van Cliburn International Competition in the 1980s, Philippe Bianconi has made an international career, pursuing his musical itinerary and patiently carving out his path far from media hype.


The release of his disc of Debussy's Préludes on La Dolce Volta was one of the major recording events of the year 2012, winning a deluge of international distinctions and a nomination at the Victoires de la Musique Classique in the category 'Recording of the Year'.

First of all, it was a foregone conclusion that Bianconi's first Chopin disc would feature the ballades, given the place they've occupied for so long in my musical universe. He preferred to follow the ballades with an exploration of the later Chopin in the Fourth Scherzo and the Barcarolle. Chopin's last years display an extraordinary evolution of his musical language, with a harmonic freedom and a refinement that look far into the future.

Having recorded the complete Debussy Préludes for La Dolce Volta in 2012, Philippe Bianconi was all the more likely to be alive to the extent to which the music of Chopin opens up new perspectives and heralds the innovations of musical Impressionism. In what ways this immersion in the Debussyan universe has influenced his approach to Chopin. The great harmonic freedom Chopin discovered in the course of his career was the very foundation of the attitude of Debussy, who went on to emancipate the language of music. One can add to this point a shared love of colour, of the instrument, a physical rapport with the keyboard, which is always coaxed, never treated aggressively.

The enchanting sonorities and the density of Philippe Bianconi's interpretation make his new CD a major addition to the list of great versions of the Ballades, enhanced by the exceptional sound quality of the recording itself, to which the pianist has devoted particular attention.

Philippe Bianconi, piano

Philippe Bianconi
Since winning at the Van Cliburn International Competition in the 1980s, Philippe Bianconi has been leading an international career, pursuing his musical itinerary and patiently carving out his path far from the media hype.

He has been hailed in the press for playing that is 'always close to the soul of the music, filling the space with poetry and life' (Washington Post), for 'his lyricism and his lofty vision . . . powerful playing that makes the piano sing even in forceful virtuoso passages . . . a very colourful sound' (Le Figaro), and '[an] extraordinary exhibition of musicianship and technical control [that] lends the music a freshness, immediacy and conviction one all too seldom encounters' (The Times).

A pupil of Simone Delbert-Février at the Conservatoire in Nice, where he was born, Philippe Bianconi is the only major French pianist to have entered the international competition circuit without previously studying at the Paris Conservatoire. His prizes at the Jeunesses Musicales International Competition in Belgrade, the Robert Casadesus International Competition in Cleveland, and notably the Van Cliburn Competition were his launching pads for a brilliant career in North America. He appeared at Carnegie Hall in New York in 1987, and went on play with many of the leading North American orchestras, including Cleveland, Chicago, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Montreal. His career then took on a worldwide dimension, and from Berlin to Sydney, Beijing to London, Paris to San Francisco, he has received high praise for the poetry of his playing and the beauty of his tone.

Philippe Bianconi is an enthusiastic chamber musician, and plays with numerous prestigious partners. His love of the voice is reflected in his recordings of the three great Schubert song cycles, Die schöne Müllerin, Winterreise, and Schwanengesang, with the baritone Hermann Prey.

The release of his disc of Debussy's Préludes on La Dolce Volta was one of the major recording events of the year 2012, winning a deluge of international distinctions and a nomination at the Victoires de la Musique Classique in the category 'Recording of the Year'.

Since 2014 Philippe Bianconi has been musical director of the American Conservatory of Fontainebleau (part of the Fontainebleau Schools, a French institution whose mission is to give foreign students a thorough grounding in French culture in the twin spheres of music and architecture), after such distinguished predecessors as Philippe Entremont and Nadia Boulanger, who trained the elite of American composers, among them Aaron Copland, Elliot Carter, Virgil Thomson, Astor Piazzolla, Philip Glass, and Quincy Jones.

Booklet for Chopin: 4 Ballades, Prelude Op. 45, Scherzo Op. 54 & Baracarolle Op. 60