Osorio: Debussy & Liszt - Jorge Federico Osorio, piano

Jorge Federico Osorio brilliantly performs Debussy's Preludes Books 1 & 2 and Listz's 3 Sonetti del Petrarca, Les jeux d'auz a la Villa d'Este, and Valee d'Obermann. Osorio's interpretations of these great pieces of piano music are in a league of their own. If you are searching for addition to you classical music collection, look no further!

Jorge Federico Osorio was born in Mexico. The famous Mexican pianist also recorded a collection of works by Mexican composer Manuel M. Ponce (of which I also gave 5 stars - read the review). Osorio's impeccable musicianship breathes new life and imagination into these already spectacular pieces of music. Debussy's Preludes Books 1 & 2 are a collection of twenty-four piano preludes composed between 1909 and 1913. Unlike Chopin's preludes which cycle through every key signature, Debussy wanders lackadaisically through all but five of the key signatures. Though the preludes are grouped together in sets, Debussy did not intend for them to be performed that way. He felt as though they were individual works able to stand on their own - and they are! Included in the preludes is one of my favorite piano pieces, La Cathedral engloutie. Liszt's three magnificent works (Sonetti del Petrarca, Les jeux d'auz a la Villa d'Este, and Valee d'Obermann) inspired future composers. Les jeux d'auz a la Villa d'Este (The Fountain of the Villa d'Este) is a pictoral piece of music conjuring images of sparkling water, undulating waves, and the droplets of water that created them. Its sound and execution inspired Debussy while writing La Cathedral engloutie. "Vallee d'Obermann is about the landscape of the human heart," (quoted by Andrea Lamoreaux) based on a novel by Etienne Pivert de Senancourt. The enchanting work is absolutly captivating. Liszt's Sonetti del Petrarca were composed between 1839 and 1846. Based on three sonnets by Petrarch, Liszt had originally composed them for voice, but they later developed into works for solo piano.