In the teeming world of modern classical recording, it has become virtually impossible to keep up with repertoire and releases in a world-wide context, so one asks for forgiveness if my claim that this exceptional release marks the first time the complete piano music of Camille Saint-Saëns has been undertaken for commercial recording.
No matter: it would be difficult to imagine finer or more insightful interpretative performances than these. Recorded not as a chunk of continuous sessions as on a conveyor-belt but over several years, it is clear that each of these pieces has been carefully considered by this admirable artist before committing his interpretative thoughts to disc. Not that every one of these pieces is of equal merit as works of art, but that is not the point – for the first time in 100 years since the composer’s death in 1921, we can now assess and absorb his complete output for the piano, thanks to the dedication and artistry of this fine artist.
Antony Gray’s performances here are of a consistently high level and whilst the influence of Liszt’s paraphrases and transcriptions of theatre music by other composers may well have been the impetus for Saint-Saëns’s similarly-conceived work, the individuality and approach of the French master is consistently revealed in these engrossing accounts of music, almost all of which, it is fair to say, will be unknown – and not just to record collectors.
The recording quality is good throughout – occasionally very good indeed – and as it is unlikely that such an undertaking as this is likely to be duplicated, we must thank Antony Gray for bringing to our attention music that manifestly does not deserve to remain on the printed page, in a volume, on a shelf in a library – it should be heard, especially in performances such as these.
(FIVE STARS)
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