Mathieu: Concerto de Québec & Works for 2 Pianos

A celebrated child prodigy in ’30s and ’40s Paris and New York, Canadian pianist-composer André Mathieu fell into obscurity soon after his death at just 39. The music he left behind is breathtaking—concertos and symphonic works that mine a rich seam of Rachmaninoff, Ravel, and Poulenc. Alain Lefèvre made a celebrated recording of the Concerto No. 3 in 2017, but its arrangement here for two pianos reveals Mathieu’s genius for harmony and melody in fabulous detail. And genius is no exaggeration: Mathieu completed the concerto at 14. However, the dreamy, post-Impressionist orchestral Rhapsodie romantique, which opens this album, shows Mathieu at even greater creative heights. Mercier and Lefèvre’s performance of this two-piano version is mesmerizing.