Piano evocations

At the heart of nascent Romanticism there was a debate: should instrumental music render an extramusical narrative, or should it be “absolute” – not explicitly "about" anything?

Orazio Sciortino, piano, presents a selection of pieces by some who favoured the programmatic approach: Juliette Dillon’s interpretation of some of the tales of Hoffmann; everyday impressions or oneiric memories evoked by Charles-Valentin Alkan and Gioacchino Rossini; and personal readings of contemporary operas (Bellini’s Il Pirata and I Puritani) by Louise Farrenc and Franz Liszt.