Pianist Cédric Tiberghien - Variations album - CD Review, the 8^th and 9^th of May 2023

I. Ludwig van Beethoven - 6 variations op. 34 Fa major; "Eroica" variations op. 35 in E flat major

II. Robert Schumann - Studies in the form of variations inspired from a Beethoven theme; Ludwig van Beethoven - 8 Variations after Franz Süssmayr's "Tändeln und Scherzen"; Robert Schumann - "Geistervariationen" in E flat major.

Album premiere, released on the 24^th of March

The French pianist Cédric Tiberghien, was born on the 5h of May 1975 and studied at the Paris Conservatory with Gerard Fremy. He has won many awards during international contests in Dublin, Geneva, Tel Avis and Bremen, finishing with the Grand Prize and five special awards acquired from the 1998 Long Thibaud Competition in France. Following his extraordinary successes, Cédric Tiberghien was invited to perform on all of the greatest stages in the world and has recently collaborated with ensembles such as the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Prague and Tokyo Philharmonics, the Cleveland, Boston and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras. In addition to that, the pianist is also profoundly engaged in the chamber music repertoire, with stage partners such as: violist Antoine Tamestit, violinist Alina Ibragimova and soprano Julia Bullock. The pianist Cédric Tiberghien, is also an active member of the recording industry, sharing a strong collaboration with the Harmonia Mundi record label, for which he has produced special projects, recording, among others, Claude Debussy's solo piano works, Johann Sebastian Bach's Partitas, Frédéric Chopin's Ballades and Johannes Brahms' Concerto No. 1 printed with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Jiri Belohlavek. Over and above that, the current discographic collection promoted by the French pianist, entitled "Variationspe", is also an ambitious and wide-raging project, that will eventually include the most important sets of piano variations that have ever been composed. The first disc from this set was recorded in January, 2022 at the Auditorium Theatre in Poitiers and it includes works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Anton Webern.

The pianist Cédric Tiberghien, has always shared interest in the principle of Beethoven variations, as demonstrated from his discographic release for the record label Harmonia Mundi, 20 years ago. He now proposes an innovative project, on a larger scale, in which Beethoven's variations are joined with other works that illustrate the evolution of this genre, from the Renaissance till this day. By performing them, Cédric Tiberghien proves his flawless technique, a fine touch and distinguishing musical intelligence.