Catalogue

Summary:

“Charles Owen is an affectionate and unassuming guide, disinclined to impose himself on music whose subtlety is easily destroyed by over-emphasis” – Gramophone

“Owen is obviously completely at home in these sometimes elusive works and he plays them beautifully, with subtle feeling for their colour. He is very well recorded” – The Penguin Guide to Recorded Music

Gabriel Fauré’s set of thirteen Nocturnes for solo piano contain some of the most beautiful and original pieces that the composer created. Their composition over half a century (1870 – 1921) charts the development of a highly personal voice beginning with the Chopinesque early works and culminating in the passionate outpourings of the final masterpieces.

A graduate of the Royal College of Music, Charles Owen has performed in Britain’s leading concert halls including the Barbican, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall and Symphony Hall, Birmingham. Internationally, he has appeared at New York’s Lincoln Center and Carnegie/Weill Recital Hall, the Brahmssaal in the Vienna Musikverein, the Paris Louvre, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and the Moscow Conservatoire. He has performed with celebrated orchestras including the Philharmonia, Royal Scottish National, London Philharmonic, and the Moscow State Academic Symphony. He has collaborated with many outstanding artists including violinists Jack Liebeck and Renaud Capucon, and cellists Natalie Clein and Guy Johnston. In addition, Charles has appeared with the Vogler Quartet and the Haffner Wind Ensemble. His previous recordings have been cited by The Penguin Good CD Guide as a “key” recording, an Editor’s Choice in Gramophone, and a Classical Brit Award. Charles Owen is a Professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

Tracklist:

GABRIEL FAURÉ (1845–1924)

The Complete Nocturnes
1. No. 1, Op. 33/1 in E flat minor – Lento (7:05)
2. No. 2, Op. 33/2 in B major – Andantino espressivo – Allegro ma non troppo (5:32)
3. No. 3, Op. 33/3 in A flat major – Andante con moto (5:06)
4. No. 4, Op. 36 in E flat major – Andante molto moderato (6:41)
5. No. 5, Op. 37 in B flat major – Andante quasi Allegretto – Allegro (7:36)
6. No. 6, Op. 63 in D flat major – Adagio – Allegro moderato (8:38)
7. No. 7, Op. 74 in C sharp minor – Molto lento – Allegro (8:06)
8. No. 8, Op. 84 in D flat major – Andante (2:21)
9. No. 9, Op. 97 in B minor – Quasi adagio (4:18)
10. No. 10, Op. 99 in E minor – Quasi adagio (5:06)
11. No. 11, Op. 104/1 in F sharp minor – Molto moderato (4:21)
12. No. 12, Op. 107 in E minor – Andante moderato (6:09)
13. No. 13, Op. 119 in B minor – Andante – Allegro (7:25)

Recorded 6, 7 and 9 February 2008, at Henry Wood Hall, London, England
Recording Producer: Andrew Keener
Balance Engineer: Simon Eadon
Editing: Bill Sykes