Faure, Thyssens-Valentin - Nocturnes 1-13

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Music reviews of Nocturnes 1-13

Music Review: Revelatory performances by a re-discovered pianist
Rating: 5 Stars

These beautiful and evocative works have found in Germaine Thyssens-Valentin their perfect advocate. The Dutch pianist, who died 1987 at the age of 85, is a rather obscure name to most. The reason for such neglect by pianophiles may stem from the fact that she took a lengthy sabbatical mid-career to raise her 5 children and that the label which she mostly recorded with, namely Ducretet-Thomson, did not survive very long into the stereo era. It is therefore laudable for Testament to re-issue some of her Faure recordings, of which this is one.

What makes Thyssens-Valentin the Faure interpreter par excellence, then? Well, her outstanding pianistic and interpretative qualities will immediately become evident when one puts on this wonderful recording. The catalogue of her attributes makes a long list - She is blessed with a superb technique, and her playing is characterised by impeccable musicianship, a warm and beautiful tone, a most sensitive touch, a wide palette of tone colours and dynamic range, the most subtle of keyboard inflections, a complete command of the art of voicing the melodic line as well as those exquisite figurations in Faure's piano writing, a sort of lyrical eloquence that will charm the listener to submission, a deep understanding of the music's possibilities as well as a total identification with the spirit of the music. It is difficult to imagine any other to equal, let alone surpass, these exceedingly fine performances.

Testament has done some good re-mastering for the re-issue. However, I found the piano tone to be occasionally rather "misty", especially for notes in the middle range, which probably is a feature of the original 1956 mono recordings. The presentation of the CD is good, with 2 well-written articles by Jeannine Lancien, daughter of Thyssens-Valentin, and Bryce Morrison. As this CD may help many listeners to discover or re-evaluate both a neglected master pianist as well as Faure's music, and that it can also give great pleasure to both the ear and the mind, it can be recommended with the greatest enthusiasm.

Description of Nocturnes 1-13

Classical CDs

• Music > Styles