The French Collection József Balog

• Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683 - 1764): Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin, Suite in G Major, RCT 6 (Excerpts):
• 1 Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin, Suite in G Major, RCT 6 (Excerpts): I. Les tricotets 01:55
• 2 Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin, Suite in G Major, RCT 6 (Excerpts): II. L'indifférente 02:30
• 3 Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin, Suite in G Major, RCT 6 (Excerpts): III. Menuet 03:32
• 4 Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin, Suite in G Major, RCT 6 (Excerpts): V. La poule 04:42
• 5 Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin, Suite in G Major, RCT 6 (Excerpts): VI. Les triolets 04:25
• 6 Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin, Suite in G Major, RCT 6 (Excerpts): VII. Les sauvages 01:54
• 7 Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin, Suite in G Major, RCT 6 (Excerpts): VIII. L'enharmonique 05:51
• 8 Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin, Suite in G Major, RCT 6 (Excerpts): IX. L'egyptienne 02:18
• Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918): Images, Set 1, L. 110:
• 9 Images, Set 1, L. 110: No. 1, Reflets dans l'eau 05:34
• 10 Images, Set 1, L. 110: No. 2, Hommage à Rameau 07:26
• 11 Images, Set 1, L. 110: No. 3, Mouvement 03:22
• 12 Images, Set 2, L. 111: No. 1, Cloches à travers les feuilles 04:58
• 13 Images, Set 2, L. 111: No. 2, Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut 05:39
• 14 Images, Set 2, L. 111: No. 3, Poissons d'or 03:54
• Pierre Boulez (b. 1925):
• 15 Incises (2001 Revised Version) 11:25
• Total Runtime 01:09:25

Info for The French Collection

The relationship between the three composers on this release is apparently linear, given that it is widely known how important Rameau was for Debussy, and how important Debussy was for Boulez. Yet in spite of the superficial differences between the music of Rameau and that of Boulez, and the good two hundred years that separate them, there is some deeper affinity. The relationship between the three composers is particularly striking in the light of the works on this album, and thanks to the fact that even Rameaus works are here played on a piano. The pieces are played by one of the most talented Hungarian pianists of his generation, József Balog.

József Balog, piano

József Balog
is one of the most talented pianists of his generation. This exceptionally gifted performer was surrounded by the astonishing heritage of the internationally well-known Hungarian piano tradition established by Franz Liszt, Ernst von Dohnányi and Béla Bartók. He is praised and compared to Horowitz and Earl Wild by critics and acknowledged by the audience for his brilliant technic and very deep, sensitive musicianship. Along with the standard piano repertoire, he plays jazz-influenced classical compositions, contemporary music, and works written by rarely played composers as well. He has also earned fame for premiering a large number of contemporary pieces and he regularly holds master courses at various prominent musical institutions.

For the last 20 years, he has given more than 1000 concerts as a soloist and chamber musician in more than 25 countries accross Europe, America and Asia. He performed in well-known concert halls such as the Koch Theater (Lincoln Center) in New York, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Chan Centre in Vancouver, the Philharmonic Hall in Saint Petersburg, the Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic Hall in Lodz, the Lisinski Hall in Zagreb, the Musikhuset in Aarhus, the Vredenburg Music Center in Utrecht, the Kensington Palace in London, Konzerthaus in Wien, Béla Bartók National Concert Hall in Budapest, the Macedonian National Philharmonic Hall in Skopje, the Brussels’s Théatre Royal de la Monnaie, the Equinoxe in Chateauroux, the Karsiyaka Opera House in Izmir, the CRR-Concert Hall in Istanbul, the TRT Radio Hall in Ankara, the Philharmonic Hall in Kiev and Opera House and Acropolis in Nizza. He also achieved great success at the following festivals: Shanghai China International Arts Festival, Bellagio and Lago Maggiore Festival, Chopin Festival in Mallorca, Tansman Festival, Lisztomanias in Chateauroux, Schubertiade in Roskilde, Beethoven Festival in Zutphen, Spring Festival in Russia, Liszt Festival in Sopron and Ankara, Budapest Spring Festival and, on more than one occasion the Festival Academy Budapest, Kaposfest and the Beethoven Nights staged in Martonvásár. ​

During his career he has appeared with a great many outstanding orchestras and ensembles including the Baltic Sea Philharmonic, Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Concerto Budapest, Kelemen Quartet, Amadinda Percussion Group, the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, the Jerusalem Chamber Orchestra, the Ankara Presidential Symphony Orchestra, the Ukranian National Philharmonic and Radio Orchestra, the UANL Symphony Orchestra, the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Hungarian State Opera House Orchestra, the Croatian National Radio Orchestra, Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, Pécs Symphony Orchestra, and Opéra de Nice Orchestra. Furthermore, he has already been on stage with world famous musicians and conductors such as Kristjan Järvi, Zoltán Kocsis, Ildikó Komlósi, Shai Wosner, Andreas Ottensamer, Jesús Medina, David Nimrod Pfeffer, Győriványi Ráth György, Yeruham Scharovsky, Barnabás Kelemen, Vitaly Protasov, Felix Carrasco, Kristóf Baráti, Volodimir Sheyko, Gerard Korsten, Balázs Kocsár, András Keller, and Gregory Vajda.

Booklet for The French Collection