Selected piano works by

Robert Casadesus

and Henri Dutilleux

Cicilia Yudha, Piano

 

OVERVIEW

 

Pianist, chamber musician, and educator Cicilia Yudha presents her Navona Records release SELECTED PIANO WORKS BY ROBERT CASADESUS AND HENRI DUTILLEUX, featuring her expertise as a solo pianist, as well as the exploration of the compositions of Robert Casadesus. Yudha’s skillful approach is demonstrated in the opening piece, Sonata No. 3, Op. 44, which has an energetic and rhythmically exciting first movement followed by a vibrant second movement, which exhibits a slow and reflective texture. Yudha brings a Casadesus’ quintessential style to life, highlighting the vibrant and lively first movement and showcasing the contrasting slow and reflective mood found in the second movement. Toccata, Op. 40 is brimming with youthful energy as the prolific 20th–century composer pushes this baroque style forward. Yudha brings this piece to life and makes it breathe with a creative, almost improvisational quality. Under the demands of this high tempo exploration, she shows her brilliance in bringing out every nuance of the piece and affirms its underlying grace and dignity.

 

The three pieces Blackbird, Au gré des ondes, and Sonate pour piano demonstrate the works of Henri Dutilleux, more often known for composing for orchestra, delving here into solo piano music. Yudha’s focus onto these pieces bring an already prominent 20th–century composer into a different light.  The first piece Blackbird is brief and was written more as a student piece, yet it is still an interesting interlude that also seems to address Dutilleux’s love for birds. Au gré des ondes is a collection of six short pieces that originally acted as interludes for French Radio. Each piece provides a new and exciting character to the larger work, such as the scherzando feel in Claquettes. The final piece on the recording Sonate pour piano is Yudha’s conception of Dutilleux’s real affirmation for the piano. Through this piece Yudha pays tribute to the musical legacy that came before her in a work that embodies Western tonal music as well as the French legacy of music with influences from composers such as Debussy and Ravel. Yudha internalizes all these aspects, synthesizes them and reproduces them gracefully with the piano as her medium.

 

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HIGHLIGHTS

 

Native to Indonesia, Yudha is an accomplished pianist who has performed in the US, Austria, Cambodia, Canada, France, and Germany. She has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra in addition to being a frequent soloist with the Duke University Symphony Orchestra

 

She is a notable music educator haven given master classes and presentations all over the United States and Southeast Asia. She recently presented lecture recitals at TEDx Talks, the Ohio Music Teachers Association Conference, the College Music Society (CMS) National Conference, and CMS Regional Conference

 

Yudha’s instruction has spread to community service by teaching in the Piano Preparatory Department at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory Preparatory School while establishing a class piano program for the Youngstown City Schools. She is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM) and joined the faculty of the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University in 2012.

 

Yudha holds a Bachelor of Music degree and an Artist Diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and a Master of Music degree and a Graduate Diploma from the New England Conservatory of Music. Yudha holds a Doctorate in piano performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has collaborated with musicologist Ewelina Boczkowska, tap dancer Claudia Rahardjanoto, and Polish Folk Dance specialists Christine Cobb and Staś Kmieć

 

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ALSO ON NAVONA RECORDS

 

 

(NV5983) BELLE NUIT

Kathryn Goodson

 

 

 

 

 

Release Date: September 9, 2016

Catalog #: NV6053

 

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TRACK TITLES

 

      Robert Casadesus

 

      SONATA No. 3, Op. 44

1    Prestissimo

2    Lento e tristamente

3    Rondo giocoso

 

4    TOCCATA, Op 40

 

 

      Henri Dutilleux

 

5    BLACKBIRD

 

      AU GRÉ DES ONDES: 6 PETITES PIÉCES POUR PIANO

      (ALONG THE WAVES: 6 LITTLE PIECES FOR PIANO)

 

6     Prélude en berceuse 

7     Claquettes

8     Improvisation

9     Mouvement perpétuel

10   Hommage à Bach

11   Étude

 

       SONATE POUR PIANO

 

12    Allegro con moto

13    Lied

14    Choral et variations

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CREDITS

 

Cicilia Yudha, piano

 

All tracks recorded February 2016 at Clonick Hall, Oberlin

Conservatory of Music in Oberlin OH

Recording Engineer, Producer, and Editor Paul Eachus

Piano Steinway Model “D,” Hamburg

 

Sonata No. 3, Op. 44 and Toccata, Op. 40

published by Editions Durand

Blackbird published by Gérard Billaudot Editeur

© 1951 by Pierre Noël, SA successeur, Paris France

Au gré des ondes published by Alphonse Leduc,

administered by G. Schirmer, Inc

Sonate pour piano published by Editions Durand

 

Cover photo and album art by Robert Delaunay