I have so enjoyed spending time with the music of Federico Mompou, the pianist and composer born to a Catalan father and a French mother in 1893. Mompou was shy, introspective, and self-effacing, and I believe that his personality comes through in so much of his music. A few of my students have played some of his pieces.....CS especially loved "Angelico", the first piece of the collection Musica Callada; I feel the same way about that piece! Listen to his Prelude No. 5 for a similar vibe. You can find a recording of Mompou himself performing much of his own music on the Brilliant Classics label (you can find it on Apple music). Also listen to Impresiones intimas, another collection of pieces I adore. I remarked to a pianist colleague one time that I could not imagine playing this for an audience as I would be afraid that they wouldn't understand the piece? My friend said "perhaps it was not meant to be played for a large public?" This morning I happened to see an article on the WCRB (classical music Boston) website. I will link the website here, and you can scroll down to the Blog where you will find CRB's link! It is an interview with the pianist Stephen Hough, who recorded Musica Callada in February. I think you will learn much from listening to this interview - enjoy! And I hope you find Mompou's music as lovely as I do.
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