Benjamin has just announced a brand new recital album on Decca Classics, due for release on 9 September 2016. His fourth CD on the label, Homages explores a number of works in which great composers pay tribute to their predecessors. Both Mendelssohn and Franck look back to the Prelude & Fugue form made so popular by Bach, while Busoni takes Bach's great solo violin Chaconne and reinterprets it in a bold and imaginative transcription for piano. Chopin breathes new life into the traditional Barcarolle of Venetian gondoliers, followed ten years later by Liszt's tribute to Italian folksong, Venezia e Napoli.
The digital edition of the album includes Ravel’s Le tombeau de Couperin, a suite for solo piano in which the composer paid homage to his musical predecessors and the traditional Baroque style. The work is also a tribute to Ravel’s own friends, as he dedicated each movement to a colleague who died in service during the First World War.
Track List
1. Bach arr. Busoni: Chaconne in D minor, BWV 1004
2. Mendelssohn: Prelude & Fugue in E minor, Op. 35 No. 1 - Prelude (Allegro con fuoco)
3. Mendelssohn: Prelude & Fugue in E minor, Op. 35 No. 1 Fugue (Andante espressivo)
4. Mendelssohn: Prelude & Fugue in F minor, Op. 35 No. 5 - Prelude (Andante lento)
5. Mendelssohn: Prelude & Fugue in F minor, Op. 35 No. 5 Fugue (Allegro con fuoco)
6. Franck: Prélude, Choral et Fugue, FWV 21 Prelude (Moderato)
7. Franck: Prélude, Choral et Fugue, FWV 21 - Choral (Poco più lento)
8. Franck: Prélude, Choral et Fugue, FWV 21 - Fugue (Tempo I)
9. Chopin: Barcarolle, Op. 60
10. Liszt: Venezia e Napoli - I. Gondoliera (Quasi allegretto)
11. Liszt: Venezia e Napoli - II. Canzone (Lento doloroso)
12. Liszt: Venezia e Napoli - III. Tarantella (Presto)
Digital Edition:
13. Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin - I. Prélude
14. Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin - II. Fugue
15. Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin - III. Forlane
16. Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin - IV. Rigaudon
17. Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin - V. Menuet
18. Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin - VI. Toccata