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Stephen Hough's immaculate pianism is applied here to various short pieces from French composers and arrangers. Hough applies some of his own transcribing expertise to the Bach D minor Toccata (it becomes a bit clangorous) and Delibes's Pizzicati (delightful). Mostly pieces are of the late-Romantic to WWI era, and Gabriel Faure is arguably best served, with a refreshingly un-draggy D-Flat Nocturne and one etude-like number that's surprisingly like late Debussy. Debussy, meanwhile, is represented by a gracious but dry-eyed Clair de Lune, Ravel by a nimble Alborada del Gracioso, and Poulenc by his cocktail-hour Melancolie and a couple short pieces that I'd have traded for his Caprice Italien, a the Napoli suite finale that Hough could really ace. Less memorable are brief petit-fours from Chaminade, Massenet and Chabrier. On his blog, Hough once responded to a fan enquiring as to non-musical hobbies that part of his free time is spent "worrying that I'm not practicing enough." Lack of preparation doesn't seem to be a problem here, and Coco Chanel would approve of the stylishly subtle touches heard in abundance.
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