Jean-François Antonioli: Ballades

Chopin erfand eine neue Gattung, als er die epische Form der Ballade auf die Klaviermusik übertrug - und machte den Virtuosen am Klavier zum Erzähler. BALLADES vereint die herausragenden Werke der Gattung in einer Einspielung: die vier großen Balladen von Frédéric Chopin und Johannes Brahms, dazu die Ballade von Gabriel Fauré, aufgenommen in einem der schönsten Konzertsäle überhaupt, der Victoria Hall in Genf. Nicht bei elegantem Parlieren stehen bleiben, sondern den Blick auf das große Drama freilegen: Der Schweizer Pianist und Dirigent Jean-François Antonioli ist bekannt für eine Detailversessenheit, die nichts dem Zufall überlässt. Für Antonioli ist das kein Selbstzweck: Aus feinsten Nuancen spannt er große Zusammenhänge und taucht damit selbst bekannte Werke in ganz neues Licht. Seine Einspielungen wurden vielfach ausgezeichnet. Zu seiner Erfahrung mit den Balladen von Chopin, Brahms und Fauré sagt Jean-François Antonioli: "Was mich schon im Konzert verblüfft hatte, wurde während der Aufnahme zur Gewissheit: Die Verbindung zwischen diesen verschiedenen Werken ist die einst goldene Regel der Maler und Architekten – ein Maximum der Einheitlichkeit mit einem Höchstmaß an Verschiedenheit."

Jean-François Antonioli

Nürnberger Nachrichten - Kurztipp (7. Juli 2015, JV)

"Ein ernsthafter Ansatz, der Virtuosität mit tiefer Durchdringung, Innerlichkeit und Weltläufigkeit zusammenbringt."

Fanfare (10. August 2015, John Bell Young)

"Antonioli, whose playing is so very elegant in every conceivable category, still gives me goose bumps.[..] In the exuberant and often played G-Minor Ballade of Chopin, he finds nuance everywhere as he traces the destiny of the counterpoint, without making a meal of any of it. As the music exfoliates and emerges into the drama of its chord infested middle section, he eschews the temptation to pound, as so many pianists do; rather, he cultivates a tone so luxurious as to convince the listener that underneath every fortissimo is the patina of a pianissimo.[..] There is a phonemic quality about every emerging note and every phrase, as if we were listening in on a private conversation. This is without question among the most endearing recitals on CD to have emerged in decades, and certainly among the best of the year. No collection can afford to be without it."

American Record Guide (11. September 2015, Alan Becker)

"Antonioli has both the technique and the temperament to not only surmount their difficulties, but also to bring to this music a natural flow that avoids having to make adjustments in order to cope with control difficulties.This, especially with the Chopin, is often the case with artists of less than sterling ability. [..] Fauré’s ever lovely ballade is difficult to resist when presented with such beauty and grace as we have here."

Fanfare (18. Dezember 2015, Myron Silberstein)

„They are touchstones of the piano repertoire. This sets a very high bar for new recordings of these pieces, for they are inevitably heard in the context not only of the many recordings and live performances that have preceded them, but also in the context of the individual tastes and preferences the listener has developed over years of familiarity with the repertoire.

[…] His playing is technically adept, musically sensitive, and stylistically apt,

and that alone is commendable. It is also insightful and unique, without being at all idiosyncratic. In more than a few passages, Antionioli gives attention to an inner voice I had not considered previously or shapes a phrase in a way I had not imagined—and always in ways that feel true to the spirit of the piece.”

Fanfare (22. Oktober 2015, John Bell Young)

“Uncommon elegance wed to infectious passion. It is a tremendous achievement, beautifully performed and no less superbly engineered.”

Fanfare (1. Dezember 2015, Huntley Dent)

“Antonioli manages to balance every element beautifully, and in addition we get the sense of a continuous musical idea, not a string of loosely connected keyboard tricks. […] the present CD has made a lasting impression.”