Extremes of The Soul - Selected Piano Works by Francis Poulenc László Borbély

• Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963): Novelette:
• 1 Poulenc: Novelette in C Major, FP 47/I 02:33
• 2 Poulenc: Novelette in B-Flat Minor, FP 47/II 01:24
• 3 Poulenc: Novelette in E Minor, On a theme by Manuel de Falla, FP 173 02:53
• Intermezzo:
• 4 Poulenc: Intermezzo No 1 in C Major, FP 71/I 01:32
• 5 Poulenc: Intermezzo No 2 in D-Flat Major, FP 71/II 02:47
• 6 Poulenc: Intermezzo No 3 in A-Flat Major, FP 118 04:27
• Mélancolie:
• 7 Poulenc: Mélancolie, FP 105 06:30
• Nocturne:
• 8 Poulenc: Nocturne No 1 in C Major, FP 56 03:10
• 9 Poulenc: Nocturne No 2 in A Major, (Bal de jeunes filles), FP 56 01:24
• 10 Poulenc: Nocturne No 3 in F Major, (Les Cloches de Malines), FP 56 03:59
• 11 Poulenc: Nocturne No 4 in C Minor, (Bal fantôme), FP 56 01:41
• 12 Poulenc: Nocturne No 5 in D Minor, (Phalènes), FP 56 01:16
• 13 Poulenc: Nocturne No 6 in G Major, FP 56 03:28
• 14 Poulenc: Nocturne No 7 in E-Flat Major, FP 56 01:49
• 15 Poulenc: Nocturne No 8 in G Major, (Pour servir de Coda au Cycle), FP 56 02:27
• Thème varié:
• 16 Poulenc: Thème varié, Thème, FP 151 01:27
• 17 Poulenc: Thème varié – Variation I. Joyeuse, FP 151 00:21
• 18 Poulenc: Thème varié – Variation II. Noble, FP 151 01:03
• 19 Poulenc: Thème varié – Variation III. Pastorale, FP 151 01:07
• 20 Poulenc: Thème varié – Variation IV. Sarcastique, FP 151 00:32
• 21 Poulenc: Thème varié – Variation V. Mélancolique, FP 151 01:04
• 22 Poulenc: Thème varié – Variation VI. Ironique, FP 151 00:37
• 23 Poulenc: Thème varié – Variation VII. Elégiaque, FP 151 01:44
• 24 Poulenc: Thème varié – Variation VIII. Volubile, FP 151 00:37
• 25 Poulenc: Thème varié – Variation IX. Fantasque, FP 151 00:32
• 26 Poulenc: Thème varié – Variation X. Sybilline, FP 151 00:54
• 27 Poulenc: Thème varié – Variation XI. Finale, FP 151 02:00
• Improvisation:
• 28 Poulenc: Improvisation No 15 in C Minor, Hommage à Édith Piaf, FP 176 03:08
• Total Runtime 56:26

Info for Extremes of The Soul - Selected Piano Works by Francis Poulenc

Poulenc's piano works, like his other works, have always captivated me, both with their unrelenting honesty and their fearless formal certainty.

Poulenc is brilliant at taking his listeners from one emotion to another, often without any transition. Poulenc's language is often glibly described as ‘light’ even by the musical public. But this view is only correct to the extent that one can objectively observe his personal life from within the palpable proximity of danger. This ‘predatory’ gaze pervades the French composer's work. The unvarnished honesty of Poulenc's music, which brilliantly blends tradition and progression, makes it astonishingly direct for all of us. (László Borbély)

László Borbély, Steinway Model D Concert Grand Piano, Hamburg

László Borbély
was born in 1984. In 2007 he got his diploma with honours (Master of Music in Performance and Teaching) then his doctoral degree (Doctor of Liberal Arts) at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music Budapest, where he is an assistant professor of Piano Faculty.

He played concerts at international festivals such Collegium Musicum Pommersfelden (Germany), Encuentro de Música y Academia de Santander (Spain), International Holland Music Sessions in Bergen (The Netherlands), TCU/Cliburn Institute in Fort Worth (USA), FestivaLiszt in Grottammare (Italy), Liszt Festival in Raiding (Austria), Liszt Festival in Bayreuth (Germany), International Bartók Festival Ankara (Turkey), International Conservatory Week Festival Saint Petersburg (Russia), Festival der Klänge in Vienna (Austria), CAFe Budapest Festival, Budapest Spring Festival, Day of Listening (Budapest), Tiszadob Piano Festival (Hungary), Beethoven Festival Martonvásár (Hungary), Arcus Temporum Festival Pannonhalma (Hungary) and International Bartók Festival Szombathely (Hungary).

He won numerous prizes at national and international competitions. He won 2nd Prize and a special prize for the best performance of the set piece at the EPTA International Piano Competition in Osijek (Croatia) in 2001. In the same year, he won the Great Prize of the national competition of secondary music schools in Békés-Tarhos. In 2002, he won the Yamaha Scholarship Award and also two 2nd and one 3rd prizes in different divisions of the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition where he won two special prizes too: prize for the „most artistic performance” and a special prize of the American Liszt Society. In 2003 he got the special prize of the Hungarian Ministry of Cultural Heritage at the national competition of the Hungarian Radio. Next Year he was first prizewinner at the Andor Földes national competition. In 2005 he won „Educational Award” at the London International Piano Competition. In 2006 he was 2nd prizewinner at the International Liszt-Bartók Piano Competition in Budapest where he got also a special prize of Budapest City. In 2009 he won 3rd prize and four special prizes at the National Haydn-Mendelssohn Piano Competition of the Hungarian Radio. He got the Annie Fischer Performers’ Scholarship three times (in 2008, 2009 and 2010). In 2009 he got „Junior Prima Prize”one of the most prestigious prize given for young artists.

He had lessons with Dmitrij Bashkirov, Gábor Csalog, Christopher Elton, Noel Flores, Péter Frankl, Márta Gulyás, Jan-Marisse Huizing, Zoltán Kocsis, György Kurtág, Claudio-Martinez Mehner, Piotr Paleczny, Murray Perrahia, Menahem Pressler, Ferenc Rados, Livia Rév, András Schiff, Tamás Ungár, Elisso Virsaladze, Mikhail Voskresensky, Tamás Vásáry and Rita Wagner.

He played concerts with prestigious artists such Zoltán Kocsis and the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Péter Csaba (violin), Barnabás Kelemen (violin), Lajos Lencsés (oboe), Alessandro Carbonare (clarinet), Lajos Rozmán (clarinet), Judit Rajk (voice), etc.

He has recitals regularly in Hungary and other countries too.

He made recordings for Hungarian Radio and TRT Ankara. His first solo CD released in 2016 (edited by: Bayer Music Group)

He took master classes in Geneve (Switzerland), Würzburg (Germany), Tbilisi (Georgia) and gave podium-lectures in Izmir (Turkey) and Saint Petersburg (Russia).

He is member of Metrum Ensemble.

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