CD - Matan Porat

SOLO

CARNAVAL
(MIRARE, 2020)

The third recital-project by Matan Porat, Carnaval is a programme in 6 parts based on Schumann’s piano masterpiece, Carnaval op. 9.
Between the 21 character pieces of Schumann are short compositions by 17 different composers, from Couperin to Kurtag, all related to the characters or the music of Schumann, through motivic connections, riddles and games.

5* Classica
4 1/5* Limelight
CD of the month, WDR Radio (“Großartig”)
CD of the week, Haaretz

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Schumann, 1 : Préambule
Master Raro : Préambule
Schumann, 2 : Pierrot
Villa-Lobos : A Manha da Pierrette, from Carnaval das crianças
Schumann, 3 : Arlequin / Lachenmann : Akiko, from Ein Kinderspiel
Couperin : L’Arlequine
Stravinsky : Valse
Schumann, 4 : Valse noble
***
Scriabin : Feuillet d’album op. 45 no. 1 
Schumann, 5 : Eusebius
Schumann : Davidsbündlertänze op. 6 no. 15 (Eusebius and Florestan) 
Schumann, 6 : Florestan 
Schumann, 7 : Coquette
Widmann : Intermezzo, from Elf Humoresken 
Schumann, 8 : Réplique
***
Schumann : Papillons op. 2 no. 2
Poulenc : Bal de jeunes filles 
Schumann, 9 : Papillons
Brahms : Intermezzo, from Klavierstücke op. 76
Schumann : Intermezzo, from Viennese Carnaval op. 26
***
Master Raro : Asch-Scha
 Schumann, 10 : A.S.C.H.-S.C.H.A.
Grieg : Sylph, from Lyric Suite op. 62 
Schumann, 11 : Chiarina
C. Schumann : Mazurka, from Soirées musicales op. 6 
Schumann, 12 : Chopin
Chopin : Etude in A-flat major op. post. 
Schumann, 13 : Estrella
***
Kurtág : Ostinato in A-flat, extrait de Jatékok 3
Schumann, 14 : Reconnaissance
Bach : Prelude in c minor BWV 847, from Well tempered Clavier (Book I)
Schumann, 15 : Pantalon et Colombine
Webern : Variations op. 27 no. 2
Schumann, 16 : Valse allemande
Schumann : Étude d’après Paganini op. 10 no. 1
Schumann, 17 : Paganini
Stockhausen : Klavierstück III
Schumann : Valse allemande (reprise)
***
Schumann, 18 : Aveu
Tchaïkovsky : Un poco di Schumann 
Schumann, 19 : Promenade
 Schumann, 20 : Pause
Master Raro : Pause
 Schumann, 21 : Marche des Davidsbündler contre les Philistins

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LUX
(MIRARE, 2018)

Lux is a recital programme inspired by the theme of light. Twelve pieces chosen among a repertoire spanning twelve centuries accompany the course of a day, from dawn to nightfall. Each piece corresponds to a time of day, with its own particular light.

5* Diapason

“Pianist Matan Porat invites us on a musical journey from morning until the dead of night. His program, selected as much for its variety as for the smooth tonal transitions between each piece, is a work of art in itself. Gregorian chant opens and closes the day, while Schumann gently moves us into light with his introspective but radiant “Gesänge der Frühe”. Music by Beethoven, Debussy, Scriabin, Liszt, Thomas Adès- plus Bartók’s unnerving portrait of nighttime (“The Night’s Music”) and an exciting world premiere recording of Matthias Pintscher’s “Whirling tissue of light”- provides fascinating individual interpretations of different times of day. Each is played with clarity, sensitivity, and a beautiful sense of narrative” (iTunes official selection)

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GREGORIAN CHANT- Lux Fulgebit
SCHUMANN- Gesänge der Frühe- I. In ruhigen Tempo
DEBUSSY- La Cathédrale engloutie (from Preludes, book I)
BEETHOVEN- Sonata no. 21 op. 53 “l’aurore”- III. Rondo
PINTSCHER- Whirling tissue of light (2013)
SCRIABIN- Sonata no. 4 op. 30 “…sea of light”
DEBUSSY (arr. Porat)- Prelude à l’après midi d’un Faune
LISZT- Harmonies du Soir
ADÈS- Darknesse Visible (1992)
BARTÓK- Night Music (from “Out of Doors” suite)
GREGORIAN CHANT- Exortum est in tenebris
BEETHOVEN- “Moonlight” Sonata op. 27 no. 2- I. Adagio Sostenuto

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VARIATIONS ON A THEME BY SCARLATTI
(MIRARE, 2013)

“Ein phantastisches Album, man muss es wieder und wieder hören”
(Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung)

CD of the week, France Musique
CD of the week, CBC Music
9/10: AllMusic
4/5: Time Out New York

A visionary programme built up from the basis of Scarlatti’s Sonata in d minor K32. The 24 pieces that follow- from Bach to Boulez by way of Chopin and Debussy- all use the same motif, as if they were all variations on a theme. The result is a fascinating network of correspondences and interconnections that, strangely, makes us listen in an entirely new way…

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SCARLATTI- Sonata in d minor K32
COUPERIN- La muse Plantine (from Ordre XIX)
JANACEK- Nur Blindes Schiksal
MENDELSSOHN- song without words op. 62 no. 1
GRIEG- Lyric piece op. 12 no. 1
BARTOK- from a diary of a fly (Mikroskosmos VI)
BRAHMS- Intermezzo op. 116 no. 5
CHOPIN- Mazurka in e minor, op. 17 no. 2
BOULEZ- Notation no. 11
SCHUMANN- Vogel als Prophet (from Waldszenen)
SATIE- Gnossienne no. 2
DEBUSSY- Des pas sur la neige
BACH- Gigue from Partita no. 1 BWV 825
SHOSTAKOVICH- Lyric waltz (from dances of the dolls)
ANTHEIL- Toccata no. 1
TCHAIKOVSKY- Tendre Reproches (from op. 72)
BEETHOVEN- Bagatelle no. 7, op. 33
BOULEZ- Notation no. 4
MOZART- Gigue in G Major KV574
LISZT- Vallée d’Obermann (from Années de Pelerinage, premiere année, Suisse)
LIGETI- V. Rubato. Lamentoso (from Musica Ricercata)
KURTAG- Doina (from Jatekok, book VI)
BOULEZ- Notation no. 8
SCRIABIN- Vers la flamme op. 72
PORAT- Improvisation
SCARLATTI- Sonata in d minor K32