Nikolai Lugansky | piano

Although the Folia can trace its roots back to Renaissance Portugal, its popularity in the land of Cervantes has earned it the name “Spanish Follies” after a detour via Italy and Corelli – who appropriated it in the last sonata of Opus 5. Undeterred by the musicological imbroglio, Rachmaninoff attributed ownership of this obsessive theme to the Roman composer, and varied it at whim in a virtuoso cycle (1931). Just like in his complete works performed in Paris, Nikolaï Lugansky – who interleaves the masterpiece between Preludes op. 23 (1903) and the second batch of Etudes-Tableaux (1917) – avoids all the pitfalls with aplomb.

Coréalisation Jeanine Roze Production / Théâtre des Champs-Elysées