Gustavo Gimeno and the OPL
Voluptuous Sounds and Graceful Charm
The Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and its Music Director Gustavo Gimeno present a composer portrait of César Franck.
The album features the famous Symphony in D Minor, as well as
the lesser known, but equally enchanting Symphonic Variations for piano and orchestra, with Denis
Kozhukhin as soloist. Born in Liege but raised in Paris, Franck synthesized Wagnerism with French
musical traditions, resulting in a fine equilibrium between a voluptuous orchestral sound and
audacious harmonies on the one hand, and lucidity and graceful charm on the other. While the
three-movement symphony follows a from-darkness-to-light trajectory, the delightful Variations
oscillate between symphonic poem and miniature piano concerto.
The OPL and Gustavo Gimeno continue their acclaimed PENTATONE series of composer portraits
that already featured monographs of Shostakovich, Bruckner, Ravel, Mahler, Stravinsky, Debussy
and Rossini. Denis Kozhukhin adds another release to his extensive PENTATONE discography that
already contains Grieg/Mendelssohn (2019), Strauss’s Burleske (2018), Piano Concertos by Ravel and
Gershwin (2018), Tchaikovsky and Grieg (2016), as well as a Brahms solo recital (2017).
Release: 12. Juni 2020 on PENTATONE
Gustavo Gimeno, conductor
Denis Kozhukhin, piano
Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg
César Franck
Symphony in D Minor
Symphonic Variations for piano and orchestra
Preview picture © Marco Borggreve