Chopin: Piano Works David Fray

• Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1849):
• 1 Nocturne No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 9 No. 2 04:40
• 2 Nocturne No. 13 in C Minor, Op. 48 No. 1 06:08
• 3 Nocturne No. 16 in E-Flat Major, Op. 55 No. 2 05:05
• 4 Mazurka No. 41 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 63 No. 3 02:17
• 5 Nocturne No. 18 in E Major, Op. 62 No. 2 05:43
• 6 Mazurka No. 11 in E Minor, Op. 17 No. 2 02:07
• 7 Polonaise No. 7 in A-Flat Major, Op. 61, "Polonaise-fantaisie" 12:44
• 8 Nocturne No. 15 in F Minor, Op. 55 No. 1 05:03
• 9 Nocturne No. 14 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 48 No. 2 07:35
• 10 Impromptu No. 3 in G-Flat Major, Op. 51 05:01
• 11 Nocturne No. 10 in A-Flat Major, Op. 32 No. 2 05:34
• 12 Waltz No. 9 in A-Flat Major, Op. 69 No. 1, "The Farewell Waltz " 04:28
• 13 Mazurka No. 40 in F Minor, Op. 63 No. 2 01:59
• Total Runtime 01:08:24

Info for Chopin: Piano Works

Chopin’s music had been absent from Fray’s active repertoire for some 15 years before he recorded this recital, which comprises seven of the composer’s nocturnes, three mazurkas, a polonaise, a waltz and an impromptu. When Fray talks about Chopin – who died in Paris in 1849 aged just 39, having exercised a transformative influence on the piano repertoire – it becomes clear that he sees the composer’s work in archetypally Romantic terms: “For me, Chopin’s music is very fragile, vaporous, perfumed … somewhat intangible. It is so fluid and evanescent – you need to feel that it could just disappear at any moment. What makes it so touching is this ephemeral quality – the mazurkas are like something that you write in the sand … You know that it will be washed away, but the memory will remain. His music palpitates with a sense of the unexpected, the inspiration of the moment. If you tried to engrave it into marble, it would die.”

David Fray, piano

David Fray
Described as “Perhaps the most inspired, certainly the most original Bach player of his generation,” David Fray maintains an active career as a recitalist, soloist and chamber musician worldwide. He has collaborated with leading orchestras and distinguished conductors such as Marin Alsop, Pierre Boulez, Semyon Bychkov, Christoph Eschenbach, Asher Fisch, Daniele Gatti, Paavo Järvi , Kurt Masur, Riccardo Muti, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Jaap van Zweden among others. Orchestral highlights in Europe have included performances with the London Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Bayerische Rundfunk, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Deutsche Sinfonie Orchester, Salzburg Mozarteum, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France and Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris. David Fray made his US debut in 2009 with the Cleveland Orchestra which was followed by performances with the Boston Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Recital debuts followed in Carnegie Hall, at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York and the Chicago Symphony Hall.

In 2014-15, Mr. Fray will perform with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, London Philharmonic, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Tonhalle Zurich, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Among this season’s recital appearances are concerts at the Theatre de Champs Élysées in Paris, the Philharmonie in Berlin and the Van Cliburn Foundation in Fort Worth, Texas. In Chamber music Mr. Fray will partner again with Renaud Capuçon playing sonatas by Bach and Beethoven.

Mr. Fray holds multiple awards including the prestigious German Echo Klassik Prize for Instrumentalist of the Year and the Young Talent Award from the Ruhr Piano Festival. In 2008 he was named Newcomer of the Year by the BBC Music Magazine. At the 2004 Montreal International Music Competition, Mr. Fray received both the Second Grand Prize and the Prize for the best interpretation of a Canadian work.

An exclusive Warner Classics artist, David Fray recorded his first CD with works of Bach and Boulez to great critical acclaim. The disc was praised as the “best record of the year” by the London Times and Le Soir. Mr. Fray’s second release was a recording of Bach keyboard concerti with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen awarded by the German Recording Academy followed by Schubert’s Moments Musicaux and Impromptus. Mr. Fray’s most recent releases include a Schubert recital, Mozart piano concerti with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Jaap van Zweden and Bach Partitas Nos. 2 and 6 along with Toccata in C minor. In 2008 the TV network ARTE +7 presented a documentary on David Fray directed by the renowned French director Bruno Monsaingeon. The film “David Fray records Johann Sebastian Bach” was subsequently released on DVD.

David Fray started taking piano lessons at the age of four. He furthered his studies with Jacques Rouvier at the National Superior Conservatory of Music in Paris where he currently resides.

Booklet for Chopin: Piano Works