Darius Milhaud ‒ Suite, Op 8

Darius Milhaud (1892 - 1974), Suite, Op.8 for solo piano(1913) Performed by Monique Muller 00:00 - No. 1 Lent (Ded. to Jean Wiener) 05:21 - No. 2 Vif et clair (Ded. to Henri Cliquet) 08:42 - No. 3 Lourd et rythmé (Ded. to Roger de Fontenay) 14:34 - No. 4 Lent et grave (Ded. to Celine Lagouarde) 22:30 - No. 5 Modéré (Ded. to Georgette Guller) Although Darius Milhaud is regarded today solely as a composer, it should be remembered that before the onset of the crippling disease which eventually confined him to a wheelchair for the final thirty or so years of his life he was a performing musician of no mean repute. Milhaud always deprecated his pianistic technique, but he was a fine pianist. He premiered his own Piano Concerto No 2 (with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra) and several other of his works for piano and orchestra – including Le carnaval d’Aix with the New York Philharmonic – and his recording with Marcelle Meyer of Scaramouche has never been equalled, let alone surpassed. He was also a splendid violinist. In this capacity he premiered his Violin Sonata No 2 and Sonata for two violins and piano, as well as his first two string quartets as a member of the Soëtans Quartet. Milhaud was also a noted viola player: he was invited by the publisher Durand to participate in the premiere of Debussy’s Sonata for flute, viola and harp in December 1915. As a conductor, Milhaud introduced Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire to London, Paris and Brussels, and in Vienna took part in a concert where in the first half Schoenberg himself conducted the work, and in the second half Milhaud conducted the same piece. Milhaud was appointed an Associate Conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra in the 1922 season, when he gave Mendelssohn’s ‘Italian’ Symphony and music by C P E Bach, along with French music, especially the modern music which was his forte. After the onset of illness, conducting was the only performing activity he could undertake, and he made many recordings of his own works. Milhaud’s skill and his practical knowledge as a performing musician can be discerned throughout his life’s work. At the time of his death in 1974 at the age of 81, Milhaud had composed almost 450 works. He would have been the first to agree that his output was uneven, and even if his music is rarely easy technically, at all times the performer is aware that the composer has a sympathetic understanding of the instrument. He was such a good composer that even in those works where his creativity burns less fiercely, there is always some superbly imagined piece of invention, of fantasy and imagination, that redeems it. One reason for Milhaud’s productivity is that, like Mozart, he could write music under any circumstances, being quite impervious to outside noise or distractions. Such a background view of this artist, and – if I may add a personal note – wholly admirable teacher and human being, throws into relief his enormous body of work. (Hyperion)