Dénes Várjon DE LA NUIT

“Negotiating dynamic shifts of emphasis,” The Independent has noted, “Dénes Várjon displays that most valuable of gifts: the ability to play in a way which makes you listen anew to the familiar.”  This capacity is to the fore in the Hungarian pianist’s sensitive exploration of Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit and Bartók’s Im Freien – an illuminating journey through three worlds of poetic imagination. As Jürg Stenzl writes in the liner notes. “All three works were bold forays into fundamentally new music that far transcended the limits of their time. They require pianists for whom transcendent virtuosity is second nature.” Dénes Várjon more than fulfils the requirement. One of the most sought-after soloists and chamber musicians, he is a musician who puts the core and meaning of the compositions ahead of self-display.
Recorded in Lugano in 2016, De la nuit is Varjon’s fourth appearance on ECM and his second solo album for the label, following on from his widely acclaimed recital Precipitando, with music of Berg, Janáček and Liszt. Two other New Series releases revolve, directly and tangentially, around the world of Robert Schumann.  Together with Carolin Widmann, Dénes Várjon played Schumann’s Violin Sonatas on a recording showered with awards and praise (“the most eloquent and convincing performances I have ever encountered of this music”, wrote Nigel Simeone in International Record Review.) Várjon also contributed to Heinz Holliger’s Romancendres, a creative meditation upon the lost Schumann Romances. (ECM Records)